Gastroprotective effect and mechanism of patchouli alcohol against ethanol, indomethacin and stress-induced ulcer in rats

•Patchouli alcohol (PA) possessed potent gastroprotective effect.•PA enhanced prostaglandin E2 production and non-protein sulfhydryl group content.•PA preserved gastric blood flow and boost gastric mucus secretion.•PA promoted COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA expression after indomethacin administration.•Underlying mechanisms also involved the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status. Pogostemonis Herba is an important Chinese medicine widely used in the treatment of gastrointestinal dysfunction. Patchouli alcohol (PA), a tricyclic sesquiterpene, is the major active constituent of Pogostemonis Herba. This study aimed to investigate the possible anti-ulcerogenic potential of PA and the underlying mechanism against ethanol, indomethacin and water immersion restraint-induced gastric ulcers in rats. Gross and histological gastric lesions, biochemical and immunological parameters were taken into consideration. The gastric mucus content and the antisecretory activity were analyzed through pylorus ligature model in rats. Results indicated that oral administration with PA significantly reduced the ulcer areas induced by ethanol, indomethacin and water immersion restraint. PA pretreatment significantly promoted gastric prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and non-protein sulfhydryl group (NP-SH) levels, upregulated the cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA expression, and considerably boosted the gastric blood flow (GBF) and gastric mucus production in comparison with vehicle. In addition, PA modulated the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The levels of glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) and malonaldehyde (MDA) were also restored by PA. However, the gastric secretion parameters (pH, volume of gastric juice and pepsin) did not show any significant alteration. These findings suggest that PA exhibited significant gastroprotective effects against gastric ulceration. The underlying mechanisms might involve the stimulation of COX-mediated PGE2, improvement of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status, preservation of GBF and NP-SH, as well as boost of gastric mucus production.