Effect of Ferula assa foetida oleo-gum-resin on gastric ulcer in indomethacin-ulcerated rats

Abstract

Background: Asafoetida is used as an antiulcer agent in Iran and Afghanistan. This study was undertaken to determine the healing of ulcers induced by indomethacin (IND) due to the protective role of asafoetida on ulcers in rats. Materials and Methods: Rats were divided into four groups with five rats in each group. One group only received IND as negative control group and other group received normal saline and considered as control group, respectively. Two groups were pretreated by asafoetida (25 and 50 mg/kg) by oral gavage for 4 days, and after this time, rats were kept fasted for 12 h and received IND at 48 mg/kg orally. Four hour later, animals were killed and their stomach and liver were fixed in formalin (10%) and sections of 5 μm in diameter were prepared. Histological and morphological characteristics of stomach and liver were assessed using hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining. Results: Treatment groups with asafoetida (25 and 50 mg/kg) showed significant (P < 0.05) reduction in microscopic and macroscopic ulcer index as compared to the IND control group. Asafoetida promotes ulcer protection as ascertained histologically by comparatively decrease in ulcer areas, reduction or absence of edema and leukocytes infiltration of submucosal layer compared to IND control group. The results also indicated that asafoetida has a protective effect on liver tissues. In general, ameliorative effects of asafoetida in animals treated at 50 mg/kg were better than dose of 25 mg/kg, respectively. Conclusions: Data indicates that asafoetida has anti-ulcer and hepatoprotective activity that these beneficial effects may be or mainly related to anticholinergic antihistaminergic and antioxidant effects.

Keywords

• Asafoetida
• hepatotoxicity
• indomethacin
• ulcer peptic