Vol. 3, Issue 1, Part A (2021)

The healing potential of aqueous extract of Irish potato tubers (IPT) on indomethacin-induced peptic ulcer was investigated. Freshly harvested and dried IPT were milled into fine powder and extracted using water. Forty albino rats weighing 165.00 ± 21.21g were fasted overnight and ulcer induced with a single oral dose of indomethacin (30 mg/kg body weight). After confirmation of ulceration, 35 animals were randomly divided into 5 groups. Groups 1, 2 and 3 ulcer-induced animals were treated with 400 and 800 mg/kg of IPT extracts and omeprazole (20 mg/kg) respectively. Groups 4 and 5 animals served as the indomethacin ulcer-induced but untreated, and normal control animals respectively. All drug treatments were done once daily via oral route for 21 days. Thereafter animals were anaesthetized, their stomach excised and ulcer index and gastric acid output determined using standard methods. The stomach tissues of 5 animals per group were homogenized and assayed for superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and pepsin activities as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) concentrations. The remaining 2 stomach tissues per group were processed for histological analysis. The results showed that treatment with 400 and 800 mg/kg IPT extracts significantly (p<0.05) elicited high percentage ulcer inhibitory effects comparable to omeprazole. Treatment with extracts also significantly (p<0.05) increased the pH but reduced gastric acid output of the stomachs to values within the range of the normal control group. There were significantly (p<0.05) higher SOD, CAT and GPx but reduced pepsin activities in the stomach tissues of extracts and omeprazole treated animals compared to the indomethacin group. Similarly, treatment with both IPT extracts significantly (p<0.05) reduced MDA but increased GSH concentrations. Treatment with the IPT extracts also appreciably corrected the stomach tissue necrotic changes and inflammatory infiltrations elicited by indomethacin. The study concluded that aqueous extract of IPT reversed perturbations caused by indomethacin-induced ulcer, thus confirming the folkloric use of the plant extract in the treatment of peptic ulcer.