title: Protective effect of chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) decoction extract against alcohol-induced injury in rat gastric mucosa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Matricaria recutita L. (Asteraceae), German chamomile, has been widely used in the traditional Tunisian medicine because of having the powerful health benefits. the current study was conducted to determine the protective effect of chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) decoction extract (CDE) in ethanol-induced ulcer and oxidative stress on gastric mucosa in rat.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult male wistar rats were used and divided into seven groups: Control, EtOH, EtOH+various doses of CDE (25, 50 and 100mg/kg, b.w.), EtOH+famotidine (FAM) and EtOH+ascorbic acid (AA). Gastric ulceration was induced by EtOH (4g/kg, b.w. p.o.).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Firsly, we found that acute alcohol administration leads to mark macroscopic and histologic changes in gastric mucosa. EtOH also induced lipoperoxidation (486.99%), thiol (-SH) groups decrease (40.98%) as well as antioxidant enzyme activity depletion such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) (49.05%), catalase (CAT) (46.80%) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (38.20%). Our results also demonstrated that alcohol intoxication increased tissue and plasmatic hydrogen peroxide, calcium and free iron levels. More importantly, CDE reversed all macroscopic, histologic and biochemical changes induced by EtOH administration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A potential gastropreotective effect of CDE against EtOH-induced ulcer and oxidative stress might be partially to its antioxidant properties as well as to various gastric mucosal defense mechanisms, including protection of gastric sulfhydryls and its opposite effect on some intracellular mediators such as free iron, hydrogen peroxide and calcium.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Université de Carthage, Tunisie; Laboratoire de Physiologie Fonctionnelle et Valorisation des Bio-Ressources, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Université de Jendouba, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P. 382, 9000 Béja, Tunisie. Electronic address: jabri.amino@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohamed-Amine
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jabri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Fonctionnelle et Valorisation des Bio-Ressources, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Université de Jendouba, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P. 382, 9000 Béja, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Nadhem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aissani
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'anatomie pathologique humaine et expérimentale, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, 13, Place Pasteur, Tunis 1002, BP-74, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Haifa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tounsi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Université de Carthage, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakly
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Fonctionnelle et Valorisation des Bio-Ressources, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Université de Jendouba, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P. 382, 9000 Béja, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Lamjed
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marzouki
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Université de Carthage, Tunisie; Laboratoire de Physiologie Fonctionnelle et Valorisation des Bio-Ressources, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Université de Jendouba, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P. 382, 9000 Béja, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Hichem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sebai
keywords: Free iron; Lipid peroxidation; Oxidative stress; calcium