Antiulcer activity of Calmogastyl® used in malian traditional medicine

Calmogastryl®, a Traditional Improved Drug obtained from the stem bark decoction of Pteleopsis suberosa Engl. et Diels (Combretaceae), a tree distributed from Senegal to Mali, is orally administered in Mali folk medicine for the treatment of gastric ulcers (1). Previous pharmacological studies on the plant extracts showed antiulcer activity (2,3). In this bioassay-guided isolation we evaluated the antiulcer activity of chloroform-methanol (9:1), methanol, and aqueous extracts of the dried powdered stem bark of the plant in the acute model of ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats, orally administered at a dose corresponding to 1000 mg/kg. Results showed that the aqueous soluble fraction from methanol extract exhibited a significant protection reducing the incidence of gastric lesions induced by ethanol administration. The fractionation of the extracts on Sephadex LH-20 afforded some fractions that were tested for antiulcer activity. The levels of total thiols (T-SH) and non-protein thiols (Np-SH) as markers of oxidative stress and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) as an index of lipid peroxidation were evaluated in the stomach homogenate, showing the fraction that significantly lowered the elevated lipid peroxide levels and restored the decreased Np-SH products in ethanol-induced gastric ulceration.