Omeprazole, Nitrendipine, Famotidine and Stress-Induced Ulcers

Authors: Serap S. İNALÖZ, YurdagüI CANBERK, Mehmet ÖZAYDIN, İbrahim SARl, Engin YENİLMEZ, Güner ULAK, Vedat GÖRAL

Abstract: Background: Omeprazole inhibits gastric acid secretion by blocking the proton pump of the gastric parietal cell. Nitrendipine is a derivative of dihydropyridine group of calcium channel blockers and administrated for angina and hypertension. Famotidine is one of the newer histamine H_2 receptor antagonists and heals gastric and duodenal ulcers by reducing gastric acid output. Objectives: The healing effects of omeprazole, nitrendipine and famotidine on stressinduced gastric ulcers were investigated in rats. Methods: Forty male Wistar-albino rats were separated into five groups (n=8), a control (non-stress) and four experimental (stress) groups. Experimental rats were treated with omeprazole, nitrendipine, famotidine or a placebo after the stresses of starvation and cold-restraint. Results: Macroscopically, the mean area of the affected lesional mucosa was 1/4 of the total gastric mucosa in the famotidine treated group and 1/5 of the total gastric mucosa in the nitrendipine treated group. A considerably decrease was observed in the omeprazole treated group in which the mean area of the lesional mucosa was only in 1/8 of the total gastric mucosa. On microscopic examination, congestive vessels and chronic inflammatory cell infiltrates were significantly reduced in the omeprazole treated group. Tissue regeneration was more prominent in the omeprazole group than the other groups. Conciusion: Omeprazole was found to be superior in terms of the effect on the healing process to nitrendipine and famotidine. Although therapeutic effects of nitrendipine and famotodine were observed, those were less than omeprazole.

Keywords: Famotidine, nitrendipine, omeprazole, stress ulcer.