• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.238-244
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• 2009

Gymnosporia rothiana (walp) Lawson (celastraceae), commonly known as Maytenus rothiana, is used in Indian folk medicine as an antiulcerogenic agent. However, there have been no scientific reports regarding its antiulcer activity. Therefore, this study was intended to evaluate the antiulcer property of petroleum ether, chloroform, and methanolic extract of leaves of Gymnosporia rothiana at different dose levels in ethanol induced and indomethacin induced gastric ulcer models. It was observed that oral administration of all the extract of Gymnosporia rothiana produces significant reduction in ulcer lesion index as well as increase in volume and pH of gastric content in both experimental models, being petroleum ether extract the most effective at dose of 250 mg/kg; it significantly reduced gastric lesion index (70.06%), in comparison to omeprazole (71.20%) and methanolic extract at a dose of 500 mg/kg (67.22%). Increased gastric mucosal defense mechanism by petroleum ether extract is probably due to its high levels of terpenoids like $\beta$ amyrin, lupeol acetate. The present results clearly shows antiulcer effect of Gymnosporia rothiana against various irritants has been mainly due to cytoprotective effect mediated through prostaglandin and partly due to free radical scavenging activity.