INFLUENCES OF THE METHANOL EXTRACT OF THE LEAVES OF ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE ON SELECTED OXIDATIVE STRESS INDICES OF INDOMETHACIN-ULCERATED RATS

Researches into medicinal plants with potent anti-oxidant activity will continue to receive the attention of researchers due to the role of oxidative stress in many disease conditions and hence, this study was aimed at investigating the influences of the methanol extract of the leaves of A. occidentale on selected oxidative stress indices of indomethacin-ulcerated rats. The effects of the methanol extract of the leaves of A. occidentale on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated using standard methods. The extract at the administered doses (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg b.w), caused significant (p < 0.05) and dose-related increases in the activities and amounts of SOD and GSH respectively in the rats of the test groups compared to those of the rats in the ulcer-untreated group. The extract treatment also led to significant (p < 0.05) reductions in the concentrations of MDA in the rats of the test groups compared to that of the rats in the ulcer-untreated group. The 400 mg/kg b.w of the extract exerted the greatest effects which were analogous to those of the standard anti-ulcer drug, famotidine at the dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. The methanol extract of the leaves of A. occidentale remarkably ameliorated the gastric ulcer-associated indices in the ulcerated rats and these findings thus support the local application of the leaves of the plant in the treatment of gastric ulcer.