Protective effect of Artemisia douglasiana Besser extracts in gastric mucosal injury.

The aim of this work was to evaluate markers of oxidative stress in ethanol-induced gastric ulcers and the protective antioxidant activity in-vivo of Artemisia douglasiana Besser extracts in ethanol-treated rats. Ethanol-induced oxidative damage is believed to be associated with generation of reactive oxygen molecules, which leads to oxidative stress. A. douglasiana is used in folk medicine as a cytoprotective agent against peptic ulcer. Different bioassays were performed: in-vivo stomach chemiluminescence, tert-butyl hydroperoxide initiated chemiluminescence (in-vitro chemiluminescence), total antioxidant capacity (TRAP) and catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in stomach homogenates. When ethanol (3 g kg(-1)) was administered, the in-vivo chemiluminescence increased by 107%, in-vitro chemiluminescence by 108%, SOD by 130% (P < 0.001), and catalase and TRAP decreased by 43 and 59% (P < 0.05 and 0.001, respectively). A. douglasiana (400 mg kg(-1)) pretreatment decreased in-vivo chemiluminescence by 41% (P < 0.05), in-vitro chemiluminescence by 66% (P < 0.001) and SOD by 56% (P < 0.001) and increased catalase by 14% and TRAP by 168% (P < 0.001, respectively) but GPx activity was not significantly different from the ethanol group. These results illustrate the significant antioxidant activity of A. douglasiana extract in-vivo and in-vitro.