Essential oil from Citrus aurantium and the monoterpene limonene are widely used flavoring agents that are found in some common food items. This specie is also used medicinally throughout the world to treat gastritis and gastric disorders. Therefore, biological assays were performed in vivo on essential oil of C. aurantium (OEC) and its majority compound limonene (LIM) to evaluate their effect on gastric mucosa. The OEC (250 mg/kg, p.o.) and LIM (245 mg/kg, p.o.) provided effective (99%) gastroprotection against lesions induced by absolute ethanol and NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) in rats. OEC and LIM do not interfere with gastric H(+) secretion, serum gastrin or glutathione (GSH) level in gastric mucosa. But the gastroprotective action of OEC and LIM occurs due to an increase in the gastric mucus production induced by conserving the basal PGE(2) levels after challenge by agents harmful to the gastric mucosa. Given that LIM and OEC are excellent flavoring agents and also present gastroprotective actions, they can be regarded as a promising target for the development of a new drug for the prevention of gastric damage.

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methanolic extract from Qualea parviflora had gastroprotective effect related to the increase of gastric mucosa defensive factors such PGE(2) levels and maintain the basal gastric glutathione levels. The methanolic extract also showed anti-Helicobacter pylori activity, anti-hemorrhagic effect and antioxidant action, but absence of analgesic, mutagenic and toxic effects, a profile that adds safety to its use.

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The elderly population has experienced increased life expectancy as well as the increased incidence of gastric ulcers. The peels of fruits from Citrus aurantium L., popularly known in Brazil as orange bitter, are commonly used asatea form for the treatment of gastrointestinal tract disorders, such as ulcer and gastritis. We evaluated the healing effects of essential oil from the peels of Citrus aurantium fruits (OEC) on gastric ulcers in middle-aged rats. We examined the effects of a 14-day chronic OEC treatment on gastric mucosa in middle-aged male Wistar rats that were given acetic-acid-induced gastric lesions by morphometric and immunohistological analyses. Oral OEC treatment significantly reduced the lesion area (76%) within the gastric mucosa and significantly increased (P < .05) the height of regenerated mucosa (59%) when compared to the negative control group. Immunohistochemical analysis of the molecular markers such as COX-2, HSP-70, VEGF, and PCNA in the gastric mucosa confirmed that OEC treatment induced healing effects by increasing the number of new blood vessels and by augmenting gastric mucus in the mucosa glands. These results suggest that the oil from Citrus aurantium effectively heals gastric ulcers in middle-aged animals; however, safe use of OEC demands special care and precautions.

Previous studies have described the gastroprotective effects of essential oils that are derived from Citrus aurantium (OEC) and its main compound d-limonene (LIM) in a model of chemically induced ulcers in rats. However, these studies do not address the compound's healing effects on the gastric mucosa. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the healing activity of OEC and LIM in acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers in rats, a model that reproduces human chronic ulcers. The obtained results demonstrated that lower effective doses of OEC (250 mg/kg) and LIM (245 mg/kg) induced gastric mucosal healing with a cure rate of 44% and 56%, respectively, compared with the control group (P<.05). During the 14 days of OEC or LIM treatment, none of the groups demonstrated toxicity in terms of body and organ weight or serum biochemical parameters. Both OEC and LIM treatment promoted an increase in epithelial healing, as confirmed by immunohistochemistry, which was greater in the animals that were treated with the positive control. In addition, both treatments increased cellular proliferation as measured by proliferating cell nuclear antigen and cyclooxygenase 2 expression in the gastric mucosa, vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated blood vessel formation in the margin of the ulcer, and production of gastric mucus, which fortifies the gastric protective barrier. We concluded that OEC and LIM, two common flavoring agents, promote gastric mucosal healing without any apparent toxic effect, resulting in better gastric epithelial organization in the treated rats.

The expressive gastric healing effect by increasing cellular proliferation together with expression of SOD activity and antibacterial action against Helicobacter pylori confirm the efficacy of this species in heal gastric mucosa and these results are a important contribution to the knowledge of a crude drug presents at the Brazilian Official Pharmacopoeia since 1929.

Flavonoid-rich Praxelis clematidea (Griseb.) R.M.King & H.Robinson (Asteraceae) is a native plant of South America. This study evaluates the gastroprotective activity and possible mechanisms for both the chloroform (CHCl3P) and ethyl acetate phases (AcOEtP) obtained from aerial parts of the plant. The activity was investigated using acute models of gastric ulcer. Gastric secretion biochemical parameters were determined after pylorus ligature. The participation of cytoprotective factors such as mucus, nitric oxide (NO), sulfhydryl (SH) groups, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), reduction of lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde level), and polymorphonuclear infiltration (myeloperoxidase activity), was also investigated. CHCl3P (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg) and AcOEtP (62.5, 125, and 250 mg/kg) showed significant gastroprotective activity, reducing the ulcerative index by 75, 83, 88% and 66, 66, 81% for ethanol; 67, 67, 56% and 56, 53, 58% for a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID); and 74, 58, 59% and 64, 65, 61% for stress-induced gastric ulcer, respectively. CHCl3P (125 mg/kg) and AcOEtP (62.5 mg/kg) significantly reduced the ulcerative area by 78 and 83%, respectively, for the ischemia-reperfusion model. They also did not alter the biochemical parameters of gastric secretion, the GSH level or the activities of SOD, GPx or GR. They increased the quantity of gastric mucus, not dependent on NO, yet dependent on SH groups, and maintained PGE2 levels. The P. clematidea phases demonstrated gastroprotective activity related to cytoprotective factors.