ABSTRACT
A gastric ulcer is an erosive lesion in the mucosal lining characterized by persistent inflammatory, oxidative, and necrotic damage into the stomach wall and is caused by the imbalance between the protective (prostaglandins from COX-1 pathway, mucus-bicarbonate barrier, endogenous anti-oxidant enzymes activity, and adequate blood flow) and aggressive (increased secretion of hydrochloric acid and other digestive enzymes and the consecutive oxidative stress conditions, developed during the prolonged consumption of NSAIDs, alcohol, Helicobacter pylori bacterium infection, emotional stress, etc.) factors in the stomach. The treatment is usually based on the inhibition of gastric acid secretion as well as acid-independent therapy using several drugs, such as histamine H2 receptor antagonists, proton pump inhibitors, anti-cholinergics, prostaglandin analogue, anti-bacterial drugs, mucosal protectives, and antacids. The traditional medication system is using plants as therapeutic agents against ulcers because plants are easily available with fewer side effects. Thus, instead of screening biologically active plants from all known plants for new drugs, the traditional information put forward helps to direct us. Sphenodesme involucrata var. paniculata (C. B. Clarke) Munir has been reported with its folkloric usage as an anti-ulcerogenic for body pain, abdominal disorders, and rheumatism and also has a pharmacologically proven gastroprotective effect of the methanol extract in its leaves.
