Preventive effect of cimetidine on chronic erosive gastritis induced by taurocholate in rats.

We studied the preventive effect of cimetidine at the microscopic level on chronic erosive gastritis induced experimentally by 6-months of administration of drinking water containing 5 mmol/l of the sodium salt of taurocholic acid (TCA) in rats. The chronic erosive gastritis was characterized by mucosal erosions, reduction of mucosal thickness and reduction in the number of parietal cells per unit area, infiltration of inflammatory cells which were mainly lymphocytes and plasmocytes, and proliferation of collagenous fibers in the gastric mucosa. A standard meal including cimetidine 0.4 and 0.8%, which was administered ad libitum with TCA, reduced the total length of erosions, normalized the mucosal thickness and the number of parietal cells, and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in the gastric mucosa. However, cimetidine did not show any effect on the proliferation of collagenous fibers in the interstitial space of the mucosa. The doses administered were 400 mg/kg/day and 800 mg/kg/day for 6 months. Cimetidine, thus, had a preventive effect on experimental chronic erosive gastritis in rats.