The role of Cola nitida on gastric acid secretion and its mechanism of action in male Wistar rats

This study investigated the effect of an aqueous extract of Cola nitida (AECN) and decaffeinated (DECAF) extract of kolanut on gastric acid secretion and its mechanism of action in rats. Previous reporters only speculated that the biological effect of kolanut in causing gastric acid secretion could be ascribed to its caffeine content, also the mechanism is not fully elucidated. In addition, none of the previous reporters has investigated the effect of decaffeinated kolanut extract on gastric acid secretion. Sixty (60) male adult Wistar rats divided into twelve groups of five rats each were used for this study. Groups 1 and 2 received normal saline orally and intravenously respectively at a dose of (1 ml/kg), 3 and 4 received 25 mg/kg of (AECN) orally and intravenously respectively, group 5 received (100mg/kg) AECN orally, groups 6 and 7 received 25mg/kg of (DECAF) both orally and intravenously respectively, group 8 received 100mg/kg of DECAF orally, groups 9 and 10 were pre-treated with cimetidine 12 μmoles/kg intravenously followed by 25 mg/kg AECN and DECAF respectively, groups 11 and 12 were pre-treated with i.v atropine (0.2 mg/kg) followed by 25 mg/kg of AECN and DECAF respectively. Gastric acid secretion was determined by continuous perfusion of rats' stomachs under urethane anesthesia. Data collected were expressed as mean ± SEM. Statistical significance at P≤0.05 was determined using Student’s t-test analysis. The oral administration of AECN (25mg/kg and 100mg/kg) and i.v AECN (25mg/kg) caused a significant increase (P≤0.05) in gastric acid secretion (GAS) with pronounced effect than DECAF group. The oral administration of 25mg/kg and 100mg/kg of DECAF and intravenous administration of (25mg/kg) DECAF caused a significant increase in gastric acid secretion. The administration of cimetidine and atropine significantly reduced gastric acid secretion. In conclusion, aqueous extract of Cola nitida and decaffeinated kolanut extract exert significant gastric acid secretion in this study. Also, the mechanisms exhibited by kolanut in stimulating gastric acid secretion in this study could be attributed to stimulating both the histaminergic H2 and cholinergic (Muscarinic M3) receptors since cimetidine and atropine blocked/reduced its effect. This research work was self-funded. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.