Protective effect of rutin against acute gastric mucosal lesions induced by ischemia-reperfusion

Rutin, a flavonoid commonly present in onions, apples and tea, has been suggested to have a variety of pharmacological activities, including immunomodulator, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.

The present study was to examine the protective effects of rutin on gastric mucosal damage induced by gastric ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in rats.

Rutin (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) was administered intragastrically for five consecutive days before ischemia. Sixty minutes after the last administration of rutin, under anesthesia, the celiac artery was clamped for 30 min, and then the clamp was removed for 60 min reperfusion. After reperfusion, the stomach was removed for biochemical and histological examinations.

As compared with the I/R group (116.7 ± 21.5), administration of rutin at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg significantly prevented the increase of gastric mucosal injury index induced by gastric I/R (73.4 ± 14.8, 65.9 ± 9.6 and 26.9 ± 5.7, respectively). ED50 value was 138.7 mg/kg. Moreover, rutin at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg showed an inhibition on the increased myeloperoxidase (24.6, 41.3 and 53.1% reduction) activity and malondialdehyde levels (27.4, 40.3 and 50.7% reduction) in gastric mucosa. Also, the elevation of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) activity as well as the decrease of constitutive NO synthase (cNOS) in the gastric mucosa were significantly prevented by rutin pretreatment.

These results suggested that rutin has a protective effect against gastric mucosal injury induced by gastric I/R and that the gastroprotection was related to the NOS/NO pathway and its antioxidant activity.