Gastroprotective Effects of Salvia plebeia via Antioxidant and MAPK/NF-κB-Mediated Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms in Ethanol/HCl-Induced Gastric Injury.

This study investigated the gastroprotective effects of Salvia plebeia extract (SPE) against acute gastric mucosal injury induced by 150 mM HCl/60% ethanol in rats and explored its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. SPE exhibited strong in vitro antioxidant activity, with DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging rates of 86.2 ± 2.4% and 89.1 ± 1.9%, respectively, along with a high total polyphenol content (96.4 ± 3.1 mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract). In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, SPE attenuated LPS-induced inflammatory signaling, as evidenced by reduced TLR4 and JNK expression and restoration of IκBα levels. In vivo, oral administration of SPE (100 or 300 mg/kg) 1 h prior to HCl/ethanol challenge significantly reduced gastric lesion area and improved histopathological damage compared with the HCl/ethanol-treated control group. SPE also increased gastric pH, reduced gastric juice volume, decreased serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6, and downregulated gastric mucosal mRNA expression of Nos2 and Ptgs2. Immunohistochemical analysis further showed that SPE attenuated NF-κB p65 immunoreactivity in gastric tissues. Collectively, these findings suggest that SPE exerts gastroprotective effects through antioxidant activity and suppression of inflammatory responses associated with the MAPK/NF-κB pathway in acute HCl/ethanol-induced gastric injury.