A molecular basis of peptic ulceration due to diet

Fresh rice oil protects against gastric ulceration in rats maintained on an impoverished diet, whereas stored oil is ulcerogenic. Rice oil contains ketoaldehydes which are ulcerogenic but their activity is prevented by the presence of antioxidants such as alpha-tocopherol, which is lost on storage. Protection may also be restored by the addition of cysteine. These results in rats in vivo can be duplicated in a rat liver microsomal system in vitro, in which malondialdehyde production is a measure of toxicity. It is proposed that the ulcerogenic activity of rice oil is the direct consequence of the stimulation of endogenous lipid peroxidation due to the lowering of the GSH content in the endoplasmic reticulum by the ketoaldehydes in stored rice oil. A similar mechanism is suggested for the ulcerogenic activity of an impoverished diet which directly lowers the tissue levels of GSH.