Gastroprotective effect of Berberis vulgaris on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury: Histopathological evaluations

• Main Authors: Saiful Bahri, Talip, Marina, Kapitonova, Sergey, Gupalo, Renad, Alyautdin, Ibrahim, Abdel Aziz Ibrahim, Norita, Salim, Azhar, Ahmad, Tin, Moe Nwe, Svetlana, Morokhina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2012
• Subjects: RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/35427/1/AJP181131622403000.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/35427/; https://ajp.mums.ac.ir/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Objective: Modern treatment of peptic ulcers includes antibacterial and gastroprotective medications. However, current anti-ulcer drugs possess severe side effects. Therefore, all attempts to find new effective medications free from side effects are justified. Though Berberis vulgaris is a medicinal plant commonly used for the treatment of numerous disorders, gastroprotective effect of its leaf extract was not investigated before. Materials and Methods: Gastric ulcer was modelled in Sprague-Dawley rats after treatment with B. vulgaris leaf extract containing 0.07% of alkaloids, 0.48% of flavonoids and 8.05% of tanning substances, 10 or 50 mg of dry extract/kg, changes in the stomach mucosa were assessed semi-quantitatively, and the gastric wall was evaluated for prostaglandin E2 level using ELISA and assessed histologically by calculation of the lesion index. Results: B. vulgaris leaf extract at the dose of 50 mg/kg reduced the macroscopic ulcer score and the microscopic lesion index, increased prostaglandin E2 concentration in the gastric wall significantly higher than atropine and B. vulgaris leaf extract 10 mg/kg. Conclusion: The gastroprotective effect of the high dose of B. vulgaris leaf extract may be due to stimulation of prostaglandin E2 secretion in the stomach, and anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenolic complex of flavonoids and tannins present in the leaves of this plant.