Intragastric ascorbic but not uric acid is depleted in relation with the increased pH in patients with atrophic body gastritis and H. pylori gastritis.
BACKGROUND
Helicobacter pylori gastritis induces reversible lowering of Ascorbic Acid (AA) intragastric concentrations. No studies have been aimed at determining the gastric juice AA concentration of atrophic body gastritis (ABG) patients. Uric Acid (UA), is another potent hydro-soluble scavenger of ROS and its possible modification in the gastric juice of patients with H. pylori gastritis have never been investigated. This study was aimed at investigating the levels of AA and UA in the plasma and gastric juice of ABG patients, compared with H. pylori positive patients without corporal atrophy, and with healthy individuals.


METHODS
Thirteen ABG patients (Group 1); 32 Chronic non-atrophic H. pylori gastritis patients (Group 2); and 13 healthy stomach controls (Group 3) attending gastroscopy with gastric biopsies (antrum=3, corpus=3) had plasma and intragastric levels of AA and UA measured.


RESULTS
Intragastric AA concentration was significantly lower in group 1 (median 0.21 microg/ml, range 0.1-24) compared both with groups 2 (median 5.5 microg/ml, range 0.1-33.2) (p=0.043) and 3 (median 14.9 microg/ml, range 0.34-44.8) (p=0.0028). Intragastric UA was not different between the three groups. Intragastric AA concentration resulted negatively correlated with the intragastric pH (Spearman r=-0.47, p=0.0003). In patients with gastritis (groups 1 and 2) there was a significant negative correlation between the sum of the Sydney Score variables in the body mucosa, and AA in the gastric juice (Spearman r=-0.55; p=0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The study shows that intragastric pH is the key factor for the depletion of gastric juice AA observed in patients with corporal atrophy and to a lower extent with nonatrophic H. pylori gastritis.
Capurso
Gabriele
G
Digestive and Liver Disease Unit, II. Medical School, University La Sapienza Rome, Italy.
Ricci
Riccardo
R
Panzuto
Francesco
F
Baccini
Flavia
F
Passi
Siro
S
Di Giulio
Emilio
E
Delle Fave
Gianfranco
G
Annibale
Bruno
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005744:Gastric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D005750:Gastric Juice / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005756:Gastritis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D005757:Gastritis, Atrophic / Q000378:metabolism*; D005773:Gastroscopy; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
D000975:Antioxidants; D014527:Uric Acid; D001205:Ascorbic Acid