Does the African garden egg offer protection against experimentally induced ulcers?

Objective:To evaluate the possible antiulcer effect of the African garden egg,Solanum aethiopicum(S.aethiopicum)(a domestic vegetable) experimentally in rats.Methods:A methanol extract of the plant fruit was prepared by maceration.Twenty five overnight fasted rats for each model were divided randomly into five groups of five rats.Groups 1,2,3,4 and 5 received normal saline,extract dose levels of 100,200 and 400 mg/kg and 100mg/kg of ranitidine respectively.All administrations were given orally.For the indomethacin and aspirin models, ulcerogenic agents(indomethacin,50 mg/kg and aspirin 200 mg/kg) were given thirty minutes after extract treatments and animals sacrificed 8 h later.The acidified ethanol model(ethanol 60%+0.1 mol/L HC1) was given 1hr after extract treatment and animals sacrificed 1 h later. Ulcer index was checked and analysed with appropriate statistical tools.Results:Extract of S. aethiopicum showed positive effect on all the models used.It produced higher ulcer inhibition than ranitidine in the indomethacin and acid-ethanol models.All the anti-ulcer effects of the extract at different doses were dose dependent but only in indomethacin model did it produce statistically significant(P<0.05) ulcer reduction in all doses compared to control.Conclusions: Garden egg,a readily cultivated crop vegetable possesses ulcer protective properties against ulcers induced experimentally making it a cheap source of natural anti-ulcer remedy.