Gastroprotective effect of standardized leaf extract from Careya arborea on experimental gastric ulcers in rats.

CONTEXT: The leaf of Careya arborea Roxb. (Lecthidaceae) has been advocated in Ayurveda for the treatment of various disorders, including ulcers, healing of wounds and several skin diseases.

OBJECTIVE

The 70% ethanol (EtOH) extract of C. arborea leaves (CALE) was investigated for its gastroprotective effect in different gastric ulcer models.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

CALE (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight) was administered orally, twice daily for 5 d, for preventing aspirin (ASP)-, EtOH-, pylorus ligation (PL)-, and cold restraint stress (CRS)-induced ulcer in rats. The status of the antioxidant enzymes in CRS-induced ulcers, H(+)K(+)ATPase activity, gastric wall mucous in EtOH-induced ulcer, and gastric secretion parameters were estimated in the PL-induced ulcer model.

RESULTS

CALE exhibited significant (p < 0.01) dose-dependent inhibition of ulcer index in ASP 12.90-51.61%, EtOH 11.97-40.35%, PL 28.63-63.92%, and CRS 38.30-66.37%, respectively. A significant (p < 0.001) decrease occurred in the level of H(+)K(+)ATPase, volume of gastric juice, and acid output. Simultaneously, the level of gastric wall mucus was increased significantly (p < 0.05). The antioxidant enzyme levels of LPO and SOD were decreased with concomitant increase in catalase activity in CRS-induced ulcers. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) showed the presence of quercetin, ellagic acid, and gallic acid (0.31%, 0.24%, and 0.71% w/w, respectively) in CALE.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that C. arborea possesses significant gastro-protective activity, probably due to its free radical scavenging activity, and validate the folklore claim.