Studies on Protective Effect of DA-9601\ulcorner an Artimisiae Herba Extract, against Ethanol-induced Gastric Mucosal Damage and its Mechanism

에탄올-유발 위점막손상에 대한 애엽추출물 (DA-9601)의 방어효과 및 기전에 관한 연구

Protective effect of DA-9601, an extract of Artemisia Herb, against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury was evaluated in rats. In the prophylactic study, DA-9601 exhibited total protection (99.4%) against absolute ethanol-induced gastropathy, And the protective effect of DA-9601 lasted up to 2 hours, which was longer than those of other contemporary mucoprotectants. In the treatment study, DA-9601 significantly facilitated the healing of 70% ethanol-induced mucosal damage, which was superior to cetraxate, a commonly used anti-ulcer drug. The mechanisms of mucoprotection of DA-9601 were also assessed. DA-9601 increased the release of prostaglandin E$_2$ from murine neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. The cytoprotective effect of DA-9601 against ethanol-induced mucosal damage was significantly diminished by the concommitant injection of N$\omega$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 5 mg/kg, i.v.), a non-specific nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor, while it was not affected by preinjection of indomethacin (5 mg/kg, s.c.), a prostaglandins-depletor. And it was found that DA-9601 significantly enhanced adaptive cytoprotective action of 10% ethanol against absolute ethanol (56.9$\pm$6.5 vs 23.0$\pm$3.3 mm$^2$, p<0.05, mean$\pm$SEM), though its exact underlying mechanism remains to be clarified. The present fin[lings demonstrate that DA-9601 exerts gastroprotecticv actions for the stomach against ethanol through several different underlying mechanisms, in which prostanglandins and NO are involved. In conclusion, the results obtained suggest that DA-9601 can be useful both in prevention and treatment of ethanol-induced gastric damage.