Aqueous babassu extract limits IL-6 and TNF-α expression on indomethacin-induced gastric lesions in rats

In addition to previously been used with therapeutic purposes among traditional population in the northeast of Brazil, the pharmacologic properties of babassu (Orbignya Phalerata) have already been shown in many studies through the last thirty years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capacity of babassu extract on prevent inflammatory response in Wistar rats’ gastric tissue, exposed to Indomethacin, against positive and negative control. The animals were distributed in three groups of five rats each. Group I received the babassu extract, Group II received omeprazole, as positive control, and Group III received distilled water, as negative control. Those three substances were administrated by intragastric gavage. 24 hours after the ulcer induction, with intragastric indomethacin, blood samples were collected, and total gastrectomy was performed. The gastric samples were rinsed with 0,9% saline, then gastric lavage and gastric tissue were systematic analyzed. The parameter for evaluation were presence or absence of Inflammation, Necrosis, Fibrosis, Reepithelization, Neocapillary and Ulcer extension on histologic analysis of the gastric sample, as well as Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels in gastric lavage and plasma. The histologic assessment has found significantly higher signals of tissue damage, in number, on distilled water group when compared with Babassu group and Omeprazole. The gastric lavage analysis has also shown significant statistically higher concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α in gastric lavage(p=0,032) in negative control group than in both Babassu and Omeprazole groups. Finally, this study has found that Aqueous Babassu Extract has the property of prevent gastric damage tissue in rats exposed to indomethacin, such property was found to be equivalent to the Omeprazole property, the establish pharmaceutical treatment for preventing PUD.