Clinical Research
Copyright ©2007 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2007; 13(27): 3705-3713
Published online Jul 21, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i27.3705
Healing property of the Piper betel phenol, allylpyrocatechol against indomethacin-induced stomach ulceration and mechanism of action
S Bhattacharya, D Banerjee, AK Bauri, S Chattopadhyay, SK Bandyopadhyay
S Bhattacharya, D Banerjee, SK Bandyopadhyay, Department of Biochemistry, Dr. B.C. Roy Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences IPGME&R, 244B, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, Kolkata-700020, India
AK Bauri, S Chattopadhyay, Bio-Organic Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Professor Sandip K Bandyopadhyay, Department of Biochemistry, Dr. B.C. Roy Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and IPGMERR, 244B, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India. s_dip2@rediffmail.com
Telephone: +91-33-22244314 Fax: +91-33-22801807
Received: October 21, 2006
Revised: November 5, 2006
Accepted: November 11, 2006
Published online: July 21, 2007
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the protective activity of allylpyrocatechol (APC), the major antioxidant constituent of Piper betel, against the indomethacin-induced stomach ulceration in the rat model and correlates with its antioxidative and mucin protecting properties.

METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups. Normal control rats (group I) were given the vehicle oral dose of gum acacia in distilled water (1 mL per rat); ulcerated control and treated rats (groups II-V) were given a single dose of indomethacin (30 mg/kg body wt.); group II rats were sacrificed 4 h after indomethacin administration; groups III-V rats were given the vehicle (1 mL per rat) or APC (2 mg/kg body wt.) or misoprostol (1.43 μg/kg body wt.) once daily by oral intubation for 7 d starting from 4 h after the indomethacin administration. After 7 d, the stomach tissues were excised for histological examination and biochemical analysis.

RESULTS: Treatment with APC (2 mg/kg body wt per day) and misoprostol (1.43 μg/kg body wt per day) for 7 d could effectively heal the stomach ulceration as revealed from the ulcer index and histopathological studies. Compared to the zero day ulcerated group, treatment with APC and misoprostol reduced the ulcer index by 93.4% and 85.4% respectively (P < 0.05). Both APC and misoprostol accelerated ulcer healing observed in natural recovery (P < 0.05), their respective healing capacities not being significantly different. The healing capacities of APC and misoprostol could be attributed to their antioxidant activity as well as the ability to enhance the mucin content of the gastric tissues. Compared to the ulcerated untreated rats, those treated with APC and misoprostol showed near normal MDA levels, while the protein levels were 86% and 78% of the normal value respectively (P < 0.05). Likewise, both APC and misoprostol increased the SOD, catalase, and mucin levels significantly (P < 0.05), the effect of APC being better.

CONCLUSION: APC can protect indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration due to its antioxidative and mucin protecting properties.

Keywords: Allylpyrocatechol; Antioxidant; Histopathology; Indomethacin; Mucin; Piper betel; Stomach ulcer