Antiulcerogenic Activity of Scoparone on HCl/Ethanol-induced Gastritis in Rats

Protective effect of ethanol extract from Hericium erinaceus cultivated with Artemisia capillaries (HEAC) on gastric mucosal damage induced by 0.15 M HCl in ethanol in rats was evaluated. HEAC showed higher potent protective effect on gastritis with effective dose 50 (ED50) value of 22.6 mg/kg compared those of selbex and stillen at 46.5 and 44.2 mg/kg, respectively, the presently used medicines for treating gastritis. ichloromethane fraction showed a dose-dependent protective effect on gastritis with ED50 value of 18.1 mg/kg. The biologically active component of dichloromethane fraction derived from HEAC ethanolic extract was characterized by spectroscopic analysis as scoparone with protective rate of 93% and ED50 value of 4.2 mg/kg on gastritis. Taken together, administration of HEAC and scoparone provided protective effect on the gastric lesion induced by ethanol-HCl and may therefore be a promising drug for treatment of gastritis and gastric ulcer.