hypericum and Stomach-Ulcer

To investigate the healing effects of Hypericum perforatum (HP) on gastric mucosal damage induced by hypothermic restraint stress (HRS.. Sixty Wistar breed rats of 200-250 gm were used in this study carried out at the Biology Department of Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey in 2006. The animals were divided into 6 groups, 2 of which were controls. The HRS were induced by strapping the rats on a wooden plank and keeping them for 3 hours at 4 degrees Celsius after a starvation period of 36 hours. After HRS, 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day Hypericum perforatum extracts (HPEs) were orally administrated to the 3 groups during the 3-day treatment. Fifty mg/kg ranitidine was administered everyday as subcutaneous injection to a group selected as a positive control. At the end of treatment, lesions in the stomach were evaluated macroscopically and microscopically.. Macroscopic analyses showed that treatment with HPEs 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day significantly healed lesions compared to control groups by 65, 95, and 75% (p=0.001). Treatment with ranitidine also healed ulcers significantly compared with the control groups. Histopathologic analyses indicated that 50 mg/kg/day HP produced the most significant effect.. Moderate doses of HP produced significant healing of HRS induced gastric ulcer in rats. The present study indicated that HPEs have therapeutic potential for the control of ulcers.

Topics: Animals; Female; Hypericum; Hypothermia; Immobilization; Male; Plant Extracts; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stomach Ulcer

The pharmacological activity of Hypericum perforatum was assessed using models of inflammation, nociception, and gastric mucosal injury in rats. H. perforatum was given systemically as well as orally. When administered systemically, H. perforatum (50-300 mg/kg, s.c.) produced a dose-related and significant inhibition of the edematogenic response to s.p. injection of carrageenan. The percentages of maximal inhibition by the above doses were 53.7, 61.3, and 75.3%, respectively (compared to 90% after 50 mg/kg fluoxetine and 60.7% after 72 mg/kg etodolac). In tests of nociception, H. perforatum, administered orally, displayed antinociceptive activity in the tail electric stimulation and hot plate tests. The antinociceptive activity was observed with 25 mg/kg and a maximal increase in hot plate latency by 50% (compared to 73.2 and 77.8% increases by 5 or 10 mg/kg fluoxetine, respectively). In contrast, the acetic acid-induced (0.6%, i.p.) writhing was significantly reduced by fluoxetine or etodolac, but not H. perforatum. Also, the nociceptive response caused by i.p. injection of capsaicin (1.6 microg/paw) was unaffected by H. perforatum, but reduced by fluoxetine. Injection of H. perforatum (50, 125, or 250 mg/kg, s.c.) to pylorus-ligated rats, decreased gastric acid secretion, but increased indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal lesions dose dependently. These results demonstrate that H. perforatum exhibits antiedematogenic and antinociceptive properties, which may be of value for the management of inflammatory painful conditions. The agent, however, causes gastric irritation and may aggravate that of NSAIDs.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Capsaicin; Carrageenan; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Edema; Electroshock; Etodolac; Fluoxetine; Gastric Acid; Gastric Mucosa; Hot Temperature; Hypericum; Indomethacin; Pain; Peritonitis; Plant Extracts; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Stomach Ulcer