Herbal Andrographis, the Potential Anti Gastric Ulcer Remedy

By Kyle J. Norton

Scientists may have found a natural plant for the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcer with no side effects, according to studies.

Gastric ulcer is a condition of localized tissue erosion in the lining the stomach.

Most cases of the gastric ulcer are associated with the infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

If you are experiencing the persistent symptoms of dull pain in the stomach, nausea or vomiting bloating, acid reflux heartburn, a burning sensation in the chest pain that may improve when you eat, drink and black color of stool due to bleeding, you may have a gastric ulcer. Please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility.

In serious cases, patients may also develop anemia and vomit blood.

According to the statistic, Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a very common disorder in the US, affecting over 4 million people each year.

In the study compared the bacterial infection in patients with duodenal ulcers and gastric ulcer, researchers showed prevalence of H. pylori in antral mucosa was higher in patients with duodenal ulcers (81.5%) than in patients with gastric ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia (56% and 52.8%) (P<0.05) and the detection of gastric ulcer is lower compared to duodenal ulcers.

Furthermore, Among patients with antibody to H. pylori, H. pylori were detected in 85.7% of patients with duodenal ulcer, 62.5% of patients with gastric ulcers and 22.2% of patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia(p<0.05).

These results clearly suggested that bacterial H. pylori are the main culprit to ulcers in the digestive system, an indication of adaptive immune defenses against infection and inflammation.

Andrographis paniculata is also known as Andrographis is a herbaceous plant, genus Andrographis, belonging to the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka.

The herbal plant has been used in traditional Siddha and Ayurvedic for the treatment of common cold, flu, upper respiratory infections, infectious diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, pneumonia, swollen lymph nodes, leprosy, bronchitis, sore throats, tuberculosis, chicken pox, etc.

Besides the main ingredient andrographolides, giving the plant a bitter taste, herbal Andrographis also processes ingredients of diterpene lactones, such as neoandrographolide, andrographiside, 14-doexy-11, 12-didehydro andrographolide, etc., flavonoinds viz., oroxylin, wogonin, andrographidines A, B, C, D, E, F.

In order to find an effective natural compound for the treatment of gastric cancer with no side effects, researchers evaluated the gastroprotective property of andrographolide, a chief component of the leaves of Andrographis paniculata in terms of the ulcer preventive effect in rats.

The dose responsive study was conducted in rats pretreated with andrographolide (1, 3 and 5 mg/kg) for a period of 30 days, prior to ulcer induction by administering ethanol, aspirin or by pyloric ligation.

During the experiment, researchers found the LD(50) value was found to be 48 mg/kg b. wt and the effective dose was found to be 3 mg/kg.

Application of andrographolide showed an increasing level of the pH and decrease in titrable acidity observed in the gastric fluid of rats pretreated with the test drug.

Andrographolide reduced the expression of the gastric tissue H(+)-K(+) ATPase, an enzyme which functions to acidify the stomach. and myeloperoxidase activities that were elevated in ulcer-induced animals.

Furthermore, the antioxidants and mucin levels were significantly maintained in the gastric tissue of drug-pretreated animals. No toxicity was found in the tested rats.

After taking into account of co and confounders, researchers wrote in the final report, "the ulcer preventive efficacy of andrographolide may probably due to its antioxidant, cytoprotective and antiacid secretory effects".

Additonally, in a study of pretreated with HAEAP (100,200,500mg/kg b. wt for 30 days) and then gastric ulcers were induced by ethanol, aspirin, pylorus ligation, and cold restraint stress models firmly supported the use of a hydroalcoholic extract of Andrographispaniculata (HAEAP) for treatment of gastric ulcers.

Also,  the ulcer score was found to be low in HAEAP-pretreated rats, particularly at the dose of 200 mg/kg b.wt. and the tested drug significantly reduced the acidity, pepsin concentration, myeloperoxidase, and H(+)K(+)ATPase activities in ethanol-administered rats as of that in the previous study.

More importantly, the tested drug also normalized the elevated TBARS, formed as a byproduct of lipid peroxidation, overexpression of free radicals and decreased glutathione (GSH), the antioxidant enzymes produced by the host and mucin levels.

Taken altogether, herbal Andrographis may be considered a functional remedy for the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcer, pending to the confirmation of large sample size and multicenter human study.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.
References
(1) A biochemical study on the gastroprotective effect of andrographolide in rats induced with gastric ulcer. by Saranya P, Geetha A, Selvamathy SM.(PubMed)
(2) A biochemical study on the gastroprotective effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Andrographis paniculata in rats. by Panneerselvam S, Arumugam G.(PubMed)
(3) Antioxidant and gastroprotective activities of Andrographis paniculata (Hempedu Bumi) in Sprague Dawley rats. by Wasman SQ, Mahmood AA, Chua LS, Alshawsh MA, Hamdan S.(PubMed)
(4) Antifertility effect of Andrographis paniculata (Nees) in male albino rat" by Akbarsha MA, Manivannan B, Hamid KS, Vijayan B., posted in (PubMed)