Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan 16:9:1-11.
doi: 10.2147/JEP.S125383. eCollection 2017.

Evaluation of anti-ulcer activity of the leaf extract of Osyris quadripartita Decne. (Santalaceae) in rats

Mastewal Abebaw  1 , Bharat Mishra  1 , Dessalegn Asmelashe Gelayee  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of anti-ulcer activity of the leaf extract of Osyris quadripartita Decne. (Santalaceae) in rats

Mastewal Abebaw et al. J Exp Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Osyris quadripartita (OQ) Salzm. ex Decne. has been used to treat peptic ulcer disease in Ethiopian folk medicine, but its efficacy has not been validated. The present study was therefore carried out to evaluate the anti-ulcer activity of 80% methanol leaf extract of OQ in rats. The effect of OQ extract on gastric ulcer in rats in pylorus ligation-induced and ethanol-induced models was studied using single dosing (100, 200, 400 mg/kg) and repeated dosing (200 mg/kg for 10 and 20 days) approaches. Ranitidine (50 mg/kg) and sucralfate (100 mg/kg) were used as the standard drugs. Depending on the model, outcome measures were volume and pH of gastric fluid, total acidity, ulcer score, percent inhibition of ulcer score, ulcer index as well as percent inhibition of ulcer index. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's post hoc test, and P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. OQ significantly (P<0.001) reduced gastric ulcer index by 55.82% and 62.11%, respectively, in pylorus ligation-induced and ethanol-induced ulcer models at the 400 mg/kg dose, which is comparable to the standard drugs. Ten and 20 days pre-treatment with OQ200 exhibited significant (P<0.001) ulcer inhibition by 66.48% and 68.36% (pylorus ligation-induced model) as well as 71.48% and 85.35% (ethanol-induced model), respectively. OQ possesses both dose-dependent and time-dependent anti-ulcer effect in the two models. The oral median lethal dose (LD50) is estimated to be higher than 2000 mg/kg for the crude hydroalcoholic extract, and secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, tannins, and saponins were present. The findings of this study confirmed that OQ has anti-ulcer pharmacologic activity due to one or more of the secondary metabolites present in it. Therefore, this study validates its anti-ulcer use in Ethiopian folk medicine. Further investigations on isolation of specific phytochemicals and elucidating mechanisms of action are needed.

Keywords: Osyris quadripartita; anti-ulcer activity; in vivo; rat.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

References

    1. Tanih NF, Ndip LM, Clarke AM, Ndip RN. An overview of pathogenesis and epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection. Afr J Microbiol Res. 2010;4(6):426–436.
    1. Lavnya A, Kumar MP, Anbu J, Anjana A, Ayyasay S. Antiulcer activity of Canavalia virosa (ROXB) W&A leaves in animal model. Int J Life Sci Pharma Res. 2012;2(4):39–43.
    1. Panda V, Sonkamble M. Anti-ulcer activity of Ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) Funct Foods Health Dis. 2012;2(3):48–61.
    1. Hedberg I, Edwards S. Pittosporaceae to Araliaceae. In: Hedberg I, Edwards S, editors. Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Vol. 3. Ethiopia: Addis Ababa: National Herbarium, Biology Department, Science Faculty, Addis Ababa University and Sweden: The Department of Systematic Botany, Uppsala University; 1989.
    1. Herrera CM. The annual cycle of Osyris quadripartita, a hemiparasitic dioecious shrub of Mediterranean scrublands. J Ecol. 1984;72(3):1065–1078.