Gastroprotective effect of Berberis vulgaris on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury: Histopathological evaluations

Modern treatment of peptic ulcers includes antibacterial and gastroprotective medications. However, current anti-ulcer drugs possess severe side effects. Therefore, all attempts to find new effective medications free from side effects are justified. Though is a medicinal plant commonly used for the treatment of numerous disorders, gastroprotective effect of its leaf extract was not investigated before. Gastric ulcer was modelled in Sprague-Dawley rats after treatment with leaf extract containing 0.07% of alkaloids, 0.48% of flavonoids and 8.05% of tanning substances, 10 or 50 mg of dry extract/kg, changes in the stomach mucosa were assessed semi-quantitatively, and the gastric wall was evaluated for prostaglandin E2 level using ELISA and assessed histologically by calculation of the lesion index. leaf extract at the dose of 50 mg/kg reduced the macroscopic ulcer score and the microscopic lesion index, increased prostaglandin E2 concentration in the gastric wall significantly higher than atropine and leaf extract 10 mg/kg. The gastroprotective effect of the high dose of leaf extract may be due to stimulation of prostaglandin E2 secretion in the stomach, and anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenolic complex of flavonoids and tannins present in the leaves of this plant.