Protective effects of Centaurium minus oil against gastric ischemia- reperfusion injury via oxidative stress and TLR4/NF-κB modulation

Gastric ischemia-reperfusion (GI/R) injury was established by 30 min of celiac artery occlusion followed by 60 min of reperfusion. Gastric tissues were evaluated biochemically for superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as histopathological and immunohistochemically for transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) expression. GI/R markedly increased MDA levels while reducing SOD and CAT activities compared with the control group. Histopathological examination showed epithelial cell loss, mucosal edema, hemorrhagic damage, and inflammatory cell infiltration in the groups subjected to GI/R injury. Immunoreactivities of TGF-β, TLR4, and NF-κB were significantly increased after GI/R injury. Pre-treatment with Centaurium minus oil significantly improved activities of antioxidant enzymes, reduced lipid peroxidation, attenuated histopathological damage, and suppressed expression of TGF-β, TLR4, and NF-κB. These findings indicate that C. minus oil exerts gastroprotective effects against GI/R injury by enhancing antioxidant defenses and attenuating TLR4/NF-κB-mediated inflammatory responses. Therefore, C. minus oil may represent a promising natural therapeutic agent for the prevention of gastric ischemia-reperfusion injury.