title: Gastroprotective effects of Corchorus olitorius leaf extract against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal hemorrhagic lesions in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Corchorus olitorius is a medicinal plant traditionally utilized as an antifertility, anti-convulsive, and purgative agent. This study aimed to evaluate the gastroprotective effect of an ethanolic extract of C. olitorius against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in adult Sprague Dawley rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  The rats were divided into seven groups according to their pretreatment: an untreated control group, an ulcer control group, a reference control group (20 mg/kg omeprazole), and four experimental groups (50, 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg of extract). Carboxymethyl cellulose was the vehicle for the agents. Prior to the induction of gastric ulcers with absolute ethanol, the rats in each group were pretreated orally. An hour later, the rats were sacrificed, and gastric tissues were collected to evaluate the ulcers and to measure enzymatic activity. The tissues were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical evaluations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the extensive mucosal damage in the ulcer control group, gross evaluation revealed a marked protection of the gastric mucosa in the experimental groups, with significantly preserved gastric wall mucus. In these groups, superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde levels were significantly increased (P < 0.05) and reduced (P < 0.05), respectively. In addition to the histologic analyses (HE and periodic acid-Schiff staining), immunohistochemistry confirmed the protection through the upregulation of Hsp70 and the downregulation of Bax proteins. The gastroprotection of the experimental groups was comparable to that of the reference control medicine omeprazole.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study reports the gastroprotective property of an ethanolic extract of C. olitorius against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal hemorrhagic lesions in rats.
authors.affiliation: Center of Studies for Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, University Technology Mara, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Al Batran
authors.forename: Fouad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al-Bayaty
authors.forename: Mahmood Ameen
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abdulla
authors.forename: Mazen M Jamil
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Al-Obaidi
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajrezaei
authors.forename: Pouya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hassandarvish
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fouad
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golbabapour
authors.forename: Samaneh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Talaee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants; D032381:Corchorus; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D010636:Phenols; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D010636:Phenols; D010936:Plant Extracts; C501911:antioxidant biofactor AOB; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D000431:Ethanol; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: Corchorus olitorius; gastric ulcer; gastroprotection; histology; immunohistochemistry