title: Mechanisms of protection by omeprazole against experimental gastric mucosal damage in rats.
abstract: In the present study, the protective effect of omeprazole on gastric mucosa injury induced by ethanol.HCl in rats and the putative mechanisms involved in this action were investigated. Misoprostol and ranitidine were used as reference drugs. The morphometric analysis of histological sections showed that omeprazole caused a significant reduction of mucosal necrotic damage, this effect being associated with a marked increase in Alcian blue recovery from gastric bound mucus. In addition, omeprazole elicited a significant inhibition of gastric acid secretion from pylorus-ligated rats. Misoprostol exerted similar effects to those obtained with omeprazole, even if the Alcian blue recovery and the acid output were affected to a lesser extent. By contrast, ranitidine failed to influence both the mucosal damage and the Alcian blue recovery, while it exerted a marked inhibition on acid secretion. The present results indicate that omeprazole is effective in protecting gastric mucosa from necrotic damage induced by ethanol.HCl and suggest that an enhancement of gastric mucus barrier may account for this protective action.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Pharmacology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blandizzi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gherardi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marveggio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Natale
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carignani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Del Tacca
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects; D005744:Gastric Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005756:Gastritis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D016595:Misoprostol / Q000494:pharmacology; D009093:Mucus / Q000187:drug effects; D009336:Necrosis; D009853:Omeprazole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011899:Ranitidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D016595:Misoprostol; D000431:Ethanol; D011899:Ranitidine; D009853:Omeprazole; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid