Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Psidium Guajava L. [Myrtaceae] Protects the Stomach against Ischemia-Reperfusion Induced Gastric Mucosal Injury

Objective: Decoction of the root, bark or leaves of Psidium guajava universally known guava has a long history of dietary and medicinal uses in Africa. This study was designed to investigate the gastric secretory and protective properties of leaf extract of guava on ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) induced gastric mucosal injury in rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 40) were divided in eight groups. Group 1 served as control group, group 2 animals were subjected to I-R without treatment, groups 3, 4, 5 and 7 were pretreated with 25, 50, 100 mg/kg of the extract orally 10 mg/kg indomethacin intraperitoneally [i.p.] 30 min before I-R respectively. Group 6 animals were pretreated with indomethacin [10mg/kg, i.p.] without I-R while group 8 animals were administered with 100mg/kg guava extract 30   minutes before administration of indomethacin [10mg/kg, i. p.] and subjected to I-R. Extent of mucosal damage was assessed by calculating the ulcer index while adherent mucus was determined by the Alcian Blue method. Results: The results obtained indicated that oral pretreatment of rats with extract of guava leaves significantly reduced and reversed I-R induced mucosal injury (P < 0.001), reduced gastric acid and adherent mucus on the gastric mucosa (P < 0.05) respectively. Indomethacin aggravated the mucosal injury induced by I-R which was reversed by 100 mg/kg extract of guava. Conclusion: In conclusion, the stimulation of mucus secretion by guava extract may be responsible for its gastro-protective properties against I-R induced mucosal injury. Keywords: guava extract; gastric mucosa; ischemia-reperfusion; indomethacin; Psidium guajava DOI: 10.3126/ajms.v1i1.2452 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.1(1) 2010 p.1-3