The importance of plant extract in improving the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract in the treatment of diseases of the stomach and duodenum

Abstract

Background: Gastric ulcer disease still is a big clinical worry, so people keep looking for brand new therapeutic agents. Plant derived extracts can be a promising origin for anti-ulcer compounds, yet the effect of a complex combination plant extract really needs a step-by-step testing through validated experimental models. Objective: To evaluate the anti-ulcer activity of a combination complex plant extract given orally in two well established experimental gastric ulcer models-stress induced and acetylsalicylic acid induced-in lab animals. Methods: Experiments were carried out on non linear male rats and on mongrel male mice. The combination plant extract was given per os at a dose of 150 mg/kg. Anti ulcer activity was assessed with two main outcome measures, the Pauls Index, which mirrors ulcerative lesion severity, and the Anti-Ulcer Effect index (AUE), which is used to quantify gastroprotection level compared with the control group. In total, two experimental ulcer models were used: an acute stress model and an acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) induced gastric ulcer model. Results: In the stress ulcer model, when the extract was administered there was a clear reduction in the ulcerative lesion burden. This was seen as decreases in large, punctate and stripe shaped ulcers, plus a drop in total ulcer count in mice. The AUE index was 4.6. In the acetylsalicylic acid induced model, gastric ulcers showed up in only 70% of animals treated with the extract, unlike controls, and the gastric mucosal injury looked notably weaker. The AUE index was 4.5. Conclusions: The combination complex plant extract showed a rather meaningful anti ulcer effect in both experimental models, using an oral dose of 150 mg/kg, and the AUE indices were 4.6 for the stress induced ulcers, and 4.5 for the acetylsalicylic acid induced ulcers. So, these results back the idea that the extract could be a plausible gastroprotective candidate, and it seems sensible to move on with additional preclinical work and also clinical investigation.