Gastro protective effects of δ-tocotrienol on stress induced gastric mucosal injury / Mohd Nor Syidiq Rodzian

This study aims to investigate the gastric protective effects of δ-tocotrienol (T3) concentrate (90% δ-tocotrienol, and 10% ɣ-tocotrienol) supplementations on gastric injury of rats induced by water-immersion restraint stress. Fourteen male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250 g) were divided into two equal sized groups; a control group and a treatment group. The treatment group received δ-tocotrienol concentrate at 60 mg/kg body weight for 35 days. The body weights of rats were recorded daily before the treatment was given. At the end of the treatment period, all rats were subjected to water-immersion restraint stress (WIRS) for 3.5 hours, following which, the rats were euthanized. The stomachs were isolated and opened along the greater curvature for the examination of lesions and measurements of gastric parameters such as gastric malondialdehyde (MDA) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂). The severity of gastric mucosal lesions was graded by macroscopic observation using a semiqualitative scale by independent examiners. The findings showed that the mean gastric mucosal lesion index in the treated rats were lower (P<0.05) than that of the control rats. This suggests that the tocotrienol concentrate has the ability to confer protection to the gastric mucosa against gastric injury induced by acute restraint stress. No significant difference was observed on changes in rats body weight before and after the treatment. The gastric PGE₂ content in both groups were comparable.