Assessment of gastric bleeding in rats: effects of cyclooxygenase inhibitors and 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 on gastric bleeding.

Gastric bleeding caused by cyclooxygenase inhibitors has been assessed by a novel method. Rats are adapted to a strict light-dark cycle with limited access to food to reduce the stress associated with starvation. Such animals are then labeled with 51Cr-red blood cells from donor animals and dosed with the compound under evaluation. After 24 hr. animals are sacrificed and the amount of blood that has accumulated in the lumen of the cecum is quantitated. The potency of cyclooxygenase inhibitors in this assay to cause gastric bleeding is as follows: indomethacin greater than piroxicam greater than naproxen greater than ibuprofen greater than diflunisal which is similar to their antiinflammatory potency in the rat. In addition, the protective activity of PGE2 on indomethacin-induced gastric bleeding is clearly shown by this method.