Antioxidant Effects of the Combination of Evodiae Fructus and Citri Unshiu Pericarpium on the Improvement of Acute Reflux Esophagitis

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a mixture of Evodiae Fructus and three anti-inflammatory herbal medicines on esophageal damage in a rat model of acute reflux esophagitis (ARE). Rats were divided into six groups as follows: Normal, normal group; ARE, acute reflux esophagitis group; EF (water extract), Evodiae Fructus; CRE (EtOH extract), Cnidii Rhizoma + Evodiae Fructus; GRE (water extract), Ginseng Radix + Evodiae Fructus; CPE (water extract), Citri Unshius Pericarpium + Evodiae Fructus. Each group was administered a dose of 200 mg/kg. 60 min after administration, ARE was induced in all groups except the Normal group. Blood and esophageal tissue were collected 90 min after ARE induction. Subsequently, oxidative stress in the blood was measured, and the levels of inflammatory, antioxidant, and tight junction (TJ)-related proteins in esophageal tissue were analyzed by Western blot. The results indicated that the expression levels of these proteins were significantly lower in the CRE, GRE, and CPE administration groups compared to the ARE group. Additionally, the experiments revealed that the combinations of the three extracts increased the expression of claudin-4 and occludin, as well as antioxidant activity, with a particularly notable increase in tight junction (TJ) proteins in the CPE group.