Antiulcer Potential of a Standardized Extract of Red Orange Juice in the Rat

Figures & data

Table 1 Ulcer healing study protocol

		Day of treatment
Group	Treatment	1°	2°	3°	4°	5°	6°	7°	8°	9°	10°	11°
I	Vehicle	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	S
II	ASA	ASA	ASA	ASA	S
III	ASA + vehicle	ASA	ASA	ASA	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	S
IV	ASA + ROC0.2 g kg^−1	ASA	ASA	ASA	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	S
V	ASA + ROC 0.4 g kg^−1	ASA	ASA	ASA	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	S
V = vehicle (distilled water); ASA = acetylsalicylic acid; T = treatment (Red Orange Complex; ROC); S = the animals were sacrificed by means of penthobarbital administration.

Table 2 Acute oral toxicity in rats

	Observation after
Test dose (g kg^−1 b.w.)	Immediate	4 h	8 h	24 h	48 h	7 days	14 days
Vehicle	N	N	N	N	N	N	No death
0.5	N	N	N	N	N	N	No death
1	N	N	N	N	N	N	No death
2	N	N	N	N	N	N	No death
4	N	N	N	N	N	N	No death
N = normal.

Figure 1 Gross anatomy of gastric mucosa: (A) normal rat, (B) EtOH-treated rat, and (C) indomethacin-treated rat.

Table 3 Effect of the ROC and sucralfate on absolute EtOH-induced gastric lesions in rats

Treatment (p.o.)	Dose (g kg^−1 b.w.)	Lesion index	Inhibition (%)	N° of ulcer-free stomachs (Prevention from ulcer)
Vehicle	–	3 ± 0.58	–	0/5
ROC	0.2	2.9 ± 0.61	3.33	0/5
	0.4	1 ± 0.82∗	66.67	1/5
Sucralfate	0.7	1.25 ± 0.96∗	58.33	1/5
Mean value ± SEM, n = 5. ∗P<0.05 vs vehicle group; Dunn's test.

Figure 2 Effect of the ROC (0.4 g kg⁻¹ b.w.; B) on absolute EtOH-induced gastric mucosal lesions (A) in rats. The extract proved to exert a partial protective effect versus ethanol-induced ulcer. In fact, the gastric epithelium showed a quite preserved morphology even though inflammatory infiltrates were visible (B).

Figure 3 Effect of the ROC (0.4 g kg⁻¹ b.w.; B) on the ulceration induced by absolute EtOH (A) in indomethacin-pretreated rats. When rats were treated with both indometacine and ethanol (A), the gastric mucosa showed wide areas of remarkable alterations with loss of the epithelial layer, exhibition of the lamina propria, and presence of inflammatory infiltration. SEM did not reveal marked differences between the experimental groups (B).

Table 4 Effect of the ROC on the ulceration induced by absolute EtOH in indomethacin-pretreated rats

Treatment (p.o.)	Dose (g kg^−1 b.w.)	Lesion index	Inhibition (%)	N° of ulcer-free stomachs (Prevention from ulcer)
Vehicle	–	3.2 ± 0.49	–	0/5
ROC	0.2	3.1 ± 0.32	3.1	0/5
	0.4	2.5 ± 0.37	22.5	0/5
Mean value ± SEM, n = 5. ∗P < 0.05 vs vehicle group; Dunn's test.

Table 5 Effect of the ROC and ranitidine on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers in rats

Treatment (p.o.)	Dose (g kg^−1 b.w.)	Ulcer index	Inhibition (%)	N° of ulcer-free stomachs (Prevention from ulcer)
Vehicle	–	27.1 ± 3.64	–	0/5
ROC	0.2	23.9 ± 2.01	11.8	0/5
	0.4	13.5 ± 1.08∗	50.2	2/5
Ranitidine	0.1	0∗	100	5/5
Mean value ± SEM, n = 5. ∗P < 0.05 vs vehicle group; Dunn's test.

Figure 4 Effect of the ROC (0.4 g kg⁻¹ b.w.; B) on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers (A) in rats. In the control group, scanning electron micrograph (A) indicates that surface topography was extremely disrupted with epithelial desquamation In the ROC-treated group (B), scanning electron micrograph indicates a normal topography with very slight degree of epithelial degeneration.

Table 6 Effect of the ROC (0.2–0.4 g kg⁻¹ b.w., p.o.) on gastric ulcers induced by aspirin (ASA; 0.2 g kg⁻¹ b.w., p.o.) in rats

Treatment (p.o.)		Ulcer index	Inhibition (%)	N° of ulcer-free stomachs
I	Vehicle (for 10 days)	0	–	5/5
II	ASA (for 3 days)	15 ± 3.3	–	0/5
III	ASA (for 3 days) + Vehicle (for 7 days)	5.2 ± 0.05∗	72	1/5
IV	ASA (for 3 days) + ROC 0.2 g kg^−1 (for 7 days)	4.1 ± 0.5∗	65	1/5
V	ASA (for 3 days) + ROC 0.4 g kg^−1 (for 7 days)	1.6 ± 1.5∗	89	1/5
Mean value ± SEM, n = 5. ∗P < 0.05 vs vehicle group; Dunn's test.

Figure 5 Effect of the ROC (0.4 g kg⁻¹ b.w., p.o.) on gastric ulcers induced by aspirin (ASA; 0.2 g kg⁻¹ b.w., p.o.) in rats. A: vehicle (distilled water) for 10 days; B: ASA for 3 days; C: ASA for 3 days and vehicle (distilled water) for the following 7 days; and D: ASA for 3 days and the ROC for the following 7 days. In the group treated with the ROC (D) focal areas of disepithelization, with preservation of normal morphology were evident.