Background: Alcohol is one of the major factors in mucosal damage and the formation of gastric ulcers. Considering the role of reactive oxygen species in the pathogenesis of ethanol-induced gastric ulcers and the antioxidant capacity of syringic acid, this study aimed to investigate the possible protective effects of this compound against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats.
Methods: Thirty adult male Wistar rats were allocated into five groups of six animals each: negative control (normal saline), positive control (normal saline with absolute ethanol), standard control (lansoprazole with ethanol), and treatment groups with doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg of syringic acid plus ethanol. The treatment period lasted for 14 days, during which the animals received normal saline, lansoprazole, or syringic acid orally daily. On the 15th day, all groups except the negative control received absolute ethanol via gavage, and 4 hours later, the rats were euthanized. Gastric mucosal samples were then collected for histopathological evaluation and measurement of oxidative stress indices.
Findings: Pretreatment with syringic acid improved ethanol-induced macroscopic (percentage of inhibition: 61.35 at the dose of 100 mg/kg) and histopathological lesions in the gastric mucosa. Furthermore, this compound alleviated oxidative stress by lowering MDA levels, total oxidant status, and oxidative stress index, while increasing superoxide dismutase levels and total antioxidant capacity in the gastric mucosa.
Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that pretreatment with syringic acid exerted a significant protective effect against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer, which could be due to its antioxidant properties.