Abstract

Nelumbo nucifera has long been used as a folk medicine in treatment of diarrhoea, fevers, bleeding and other inflammatory conditions. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the antiulcer effect of hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Nelumbo nucifera. The hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Nelumbo nucifera was subjected to phytochemical screening which confirmed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phytosterols and saponins. Acute gastric ulceration in rats was produced by oral administration of various noxious chemicals including indomethacin, ethanol, pylorus ligation technique and by subjecting the animals to cold restraint stress. The extract was administered in three different doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg orally in all the experiments. The dose was calculated based upon acute toxicity studies. Ranitidine and Misoprostol were used as the standard drugs. The antiulcer activity was assessed by determining and comparing the ulcer index of the test group with that of the vehicle control group and standard group. The antiulcer potency was evaluated by determining and comparing the ulcer idex of the test group with that of the vehicle control group and standard group. The antiulcer activity was however less than the standard drugs. The above may be due to the presence of flavonoids, tannins and other phytoconstituents in the plant extract.

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