Enhancement of gastric ulcer healing and angiogenesis by cochinchina Momordica seed extract in rats

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science 2010, 25(6), 139, pp.875-881
• Main Authors: Kang, Jung Mook, Kim, Nayoung, Kim, Bongcheol, Kim, Joo-Hyon, Lee, Bong-Yong, Park, Ji Hyun, Lee, Mi Kyoung, Lee, Hye Seung, Kim, Joo Sung, Jung, Hyun Chae, Song, In Sung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetic Acid - toxicity; Administration, Oral; Animals; Anti-Ulcer Agents - therapeutic use; Factor VIII - metabolism; Male; Momordica - chemistry; Neovascularization, Physiologic - drug effects; Original; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Seeds - chemistry; Stomach Ulcer - chemically induced; Stomach Ulcer - drug therapy; Stomach Ulcer - pathology; Up-Regulation; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - genetics; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - metabolism; 의학일반
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2010.25.6.875

Cochinchina momordica seed is the dried ripe seed of Momordica cochinchinensis, a perennial vine. The antiulcer effect of an extract from cochinchina momordica seeds (SK-MS10) was evaluated in a rat model of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers. Gastric ulcers were produced by subserosal injection of acetic acid. SK-MS10 (200 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered orally once per day for 14 days after the acetic acid injection. The stomach was removed and the ulcer size measured at day 7 and 14 of the treatment. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was assessed by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. In addition, the microvasculature density (MVD) adjacent to the ulcer margin was examined by immunohistochemistry. The treatment with SK-MS10 for 7 and 14 days significantly accelerated ulcer healing and increased the expression of mRNA (at day 7) as well as VEGF protein (at day 14) compared to the vehicle-treated rats. The MVD for factor VIII was also higher in the SK-MS10 treatment group compared to the vehicle-treated rats; however, these differences were not statistically significant. These results suggest that SK-MS10 treatment accelerates the healing of gastric ulcers via upregulation of VEGF and angiogenesis in an acetic acid rat model.