Mitigating effect of Avicenna marina on indomethacin induced gastric ulcer in male albino rats

The aqueous extract of Avicenna marina (AM) has been suggested to be useful in the treatment of various diseases. In this study, the protective effect of oral administration of Avicenna marina extract against oxidative gastric mucosal injury induced by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), indomethacin in rats was investigated.The aqueous extract of Avicenna marina was given by oral gavages (125 mg /kg) three times at 12 h intervals before administering indomethacin (20 mg/kg).The level of prostaglandin (PGE2) and pH gradientwere markedly decreased following indomethacin treatment, with increase in acid volume. In addition, tumor necrosis factor (TNFα), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and the lipid peroxidation products malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly increased 6 h after oral administration of indomethacin in rats gastric mucosa indicating acute inflammatory injury. Pretreatment withAM abolished indomethacin induced elevation of TNF-α,TGF-β1 and MAD levels. In indomethacin-treated rats, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities as well as reduced glutathione (GSH) content were significantly diminished in gastric mucosa. However, pre-administration with AM maintains the level of these parameters near to the control value. Thus, these results indicate the effective anti-peroxidative and preventive actions of AM against indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal damage.