Peptic Ulcers and Its Cure Using Herbal Extracts

ABOUT AUTHOR
Bestha Chakrapani*, Hindustan Abdul Ahad, Dominic Ravichandran Y, Diamond Swaroop A, Mahesh Babu T
Department of Pharmacology, Balaji College of Pharmacy, Rudrampet, Alamuru, Anantapur, AP, India
Department of Pharmacology, VIT University, Vellore 632014, India
E-mail: abdulhindustan@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT
The main purpose of present review is to give the information regarding various plant parts used to treat Peptic ulcer, gastric hyperacidity, gastro inflammation and ulcers. The usage of synthetic drugs increases the irritation rather than curing it. Herbal extracts have been found to be one of the potential remedy and cure in recent times. Moreover the side effects were not seen or minimum compared to that of the synthetic drugs. Hence we made an attempt to explore the plants with chemical constituents which showed anti-peptic characteristics.
Key words: Peptic ulcer, Gastric hyperacidity, Gastro inflammation
INTRODUCTION
Peptic ulcer is a chronic disease associated with serious and life threatening complications including bleeding or perforation. The disease is characterized by life-long symptomatic recurrences which exert negative economical and health impact from disability and absence from work that may necessitate surgery or if untreated can cause death . A breakdown in what is called the balance between aggressive factors and gastric mucosal defenses was hypothesized to account for the occurrence of peptic ulcers. The gastric hydrochloric acid and oxyntic gland parietal cells as the gastric acid secretory cells were identified in 1823 and the mechanisms of acid secretions have proved to be an interesting area of investigation.
Aggression is considered to be inflicted by hydrochloric acid and pepsin secreted by the gastric mucosa itself, and a number of exogenous factors e.g., drugs such as steroidal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ethanol smoking stress. A number of factors on the other hand constitute the gastric mucosal defense against damaging agents tight junctions between the surface epithelial cells, rapid cell turnover, epithelial restitution, gastric mucus gel and bicarbonate secretion, gastric mucus phospholipids, sulphydryl compounds, prostaglandins, gastric mucosal blood flow. The historical rediscovery of gastric H. pylori in the stomach of patients with chronic gastritis by Warren and Marshall was considered an important event with regard to our understanding of the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer ulceration. The bacterium turned out to be one of the most if not the only important aggressive factors. Indeed, since that time peptic ulcer disease has been largely viewed as being only of infectious etiology, as can be seen from the huge number of publications in that field dealing with the bacterium. Further, an increasingly growing body of literature suggests an association between colonization by H. pylori in the stomach and a risk for developing gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), lymphoma gastric adenocarcinoma and even pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The importance of the bacterium is now moving from gastric diseases towards a number of extra-gastrointestinal disorders such as ischemic heart disease, ischemic cerebrovascular disease, atherosclerosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, and skin diseases. Eradication of H. pylori thus seems to be of beneficial impact on human health. It would seem pertinent therefore to try to survey and discuss the data and relevant literature concerning the role proposed for this bacterium in different disease processes and especially in pathogenesis of gastric cancer and primary gastric lymphoma.