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R. K. Goel , R. N. Maiti , T. Prabha , M. Mohan Kumar , Prakash , G. Singh

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate safety profile of Tamrabhasma (TMB), an Indian Ayurvedic preparation of copper found to possess significant ulcer protective activity both experimentally and clinically using some general, physiological, reproductive and laboratory parameters in rats and mice. Methods: Acute toxicity study was carried out in mice and rats of either sex treated orally with TMB (5, 20, 100 and 1000 mg/kg single oral dose). Subacute toxicity was carried out with 5, 20 and 100 mg/kg administered orally daily for 7 days while, 5mg/kg dose daily was used for 80 days for chronic toxicity study. In addition, teratological studies including both prenatal and postnatal studies were done in rats treated with TMB (5mg/kg single dose orally for 60 days plus during mating plus either upto 18 days of gestation or till delivery respectively to assess the safety profile of the drug. Results: TMB did not show any acute, subacute or chronic toxicity in terms of any change in general parameters (behaviour, mortality, weight gain, food and water intake). It did not produce any change in hematological profile, liver function tests and histopathological studies of major organs (liver, kidney, adrenals and testis) after 80 days study in rats. Teratological studies in rats showed no deleterious effect on organogenesis or intrauterine fetal development or any harmful effects on postnatal development of rat pups. Conclusion: The above observations are likely to strengthen the safe use of commonly used Ayruvedic medicine Tamrabhasma (TMB) in peptic ulcer diseases.

Keywords

Tamrabhasma, Toxicity, Physiological, Reproductive, Teratological Parameters

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M. C. Joshi , M. Mohan Kumar , T. Prabha , M. Dorababu , R. K. Goel

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the status of gastric mucosal defense in pylorus-ligated (PL)-induced gastric ulceration (GU) and secretion in normal and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) rats and to study the effect of methanolic extract of dried powder of unripe plantain banana pulp (Musa sapientum var. paradisiaca, MSE) shown to have both ulcer protective action and hypoglycemic principle in normal and NIDDM rats with concurrent gastroduodenal ulceration. Methods: NIDDM was induced in 5 days old rat pups by administering 70 mg/kg of streptozotocin intraperitoneally and blood glucose estimation was done after 12 weeks (blood glucose level >140 mg/dL and stable). Gastric ulcers were induced both in normal (NR) and NIDDM rats by 4 h PL. MSE was used in a dose of 100 mg/kg, orally (po), once daily (od) for 6 days. Standard ulcer protective drug sucralfate (SFT) and standard oral hypoglycemic agent glibenclamide (GLC) were used in a dose of 500mg/kg and 0.6 mg/kg respectively, po, od for 6 days. Results: MSE but not SFT tended to decrease blood glucose level at the ulcer protective dose used, while GLC significantly reduced it both in normal as well as in NIDDM rats. There was an increased propensity to gastric ulceration in NIDDM-PL rats compared to the normal PL rats. NIDDM rats showed a tendency to increase in acid-pepsin secretion and decrease in mucin secretion and life span of mucosal cells. Both SFT and MSE showed significant antiulcer activity against PL-GU in NR and NIDDM rats, where as GLC showed a significant effect only against PL-GU in NIDDM rats. Both MSE (having little or no effect on offensive acid-pepsin secretion) and SFT (caused decrease in pepsin secretion) significantly increased the defensive factors like mucin secretion and life span of mucosal cells both in NR-PL and NIDDM-PL rats while, GLC reversed the above parameters only in NIDDM-PL rats near to the normal control level. Conclusion: The study thus indicated that diabetes do affect both the offensive and defensive gastric mucosal factors and correction of either blood sugar level or promotion of defensive mucosal factors do overcome the damage induced by diabetes vis a vis gastric ulceration. Plantain banana by virtue of its having both ulcer protective activity and hypoglycemic principle showed better effect than SFT or GLC alone in NIDDM rats.

Keywords

NIDDM, Gastric Ulcer, Acid-pepsin, Mucin, Cell Shedding, Plantain Banana

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