Evaluation of the pharmacological interactions between coadministered Newbouldia laevis root bark extract and omeprazole in ulcer induced rat model

Abstract

Ulcers are wounds on the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. There are different types of ulcers some of which include: duodenal, gastric and esophageal ulcers. The most common type of ulcers is peptic ulcers which occur mostly in those portions that come into contact with stomach acids and enzymes. Other causes of ulcers comprise antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, alcohol and a microorganism called Helicobacter pylori. There are numerous antiulcer drugs in current use. These drugs are associated with many problems some of which are life-threatening. In other to avert these complications, herbal remedies are used recently because they are expected to be more efficacious and with high safety potentials. In this study, we evaluated the antiulcer interactions between coadministered Newbouldia laevis root bark extract and Omeprazole using rat model. The 12 mature Wister rats used in this study were divided into four groups of three rats each. Distilled water, Omeprazole, extract of Newbouldia laevis alone and coadministration of Omeprazole and Newbouldia laevis extract were given to groups I, II, III and IV respectively. After 30 minutes, ulcer was induced in all the rats using 95% ethanol. One hour later, all the rats were sacrificed and the gastrointestinal tract separated. The pH of gastrointestinal content was assessed and the number of ulcers counted. The least number of ulcers were observed in group IV. It was concluded that Newbouldia laevis and Omeprazole interacted synergistically because they, in combination, exhibited better ulcer protective effects than each of the treatments given alone.