Anti-ulcer and gastric anti-secretory activities of seed extract of Buchholzia coriacea in Wistar Albino rats

Ethanol extract of Buchholzia coriacea seed was evaluated for anti-ulcer as well as anti-secretory activity in rats because of its use in Nigerian folk medicine as an anti-ulcer agent. Standard pharmacological methods were used to carry out phytochemical analysis of the plant. Quantitative phytochemical analysis of the ethanol extract of B. coriacea revealed the presence of alkaloids (101.88 ± 0.11 mg/100 g), flavonoids (46.88 ± 2.21 mg/100 g), tannins (0.16 ± 0.02 mg/100 g), oxalate (0.15 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) and terpenes (23.0 ± 0.30 μg/100 g). The extract at 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, significantly (P<0.05) and dose-dependently suppressed the ulcerogenic effect induced by indomethacin in rat gastric mucosa relative to the controls. Similarly, the extract significantly (P<0.05) decreased histamine-mediated gastric acid secretion and also blocked histamine-induced contractile responses in isolated guinea-pig ileum in a similar fashion as the standard anti-histamine drug, chlorpheniramine. The extract had comparable ulcer protective potency with cimetidine, which is a standard drug used in the management of ulcer. The mechanism of the extract’s efficacy to protect the animals against indomethacin-induced ulcer may be diverse in nature (due to the presence of a number of bioactive constituents) but suppression of mediator effect of histamine is likely to play a predominant role in the observed activity.