Research Article Gastroprotective Activity of Polygonumchinense Aqueous Leaf Extract on Ethanol-Induced Hemorrhagic

Copyright © 2012 Iza Farhana Ismail et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Polygonum chinense is a Malaysian ethnic plant with various healing effects. This study was to determine preventive effect of aque-ous leaf extract of P. chinense against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were divided into seven groups. The normal and ulcer control groups were orally administered with distilled water. The reference group was orally administered with 20mg/kg omeprazole. The experimental groups received the extracts 62.5, 125, 250, and 500mg/kg, accordingly. After sixty minutes, distilled water and absolute ethanol were given (5mL/kg) to the normal control and the others, respectively. In addition to histology, immunohistochemical and periodic acid schiff (PAS) stains, levels of lipid peroxidation, malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzymes, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. The ulcer group exhibited severe mucosal damages. The experimental groups significantly reduced gastric lesions and MDA levels and increased SO