Elicitor treatment potentiates the preventive effect of Saururus chinensis leaves on stress-induced gastritis

Abstract

In this study, gastritis inhibitory substances were ethanol-extracted from Saururus chinensis leaves as a part of ongoing research on natural bioactive substances. Comparing S. chinensis extracts with and without elicitor treatment showed that total phenolic compounds in the leaves increased with increasing elicitor treatment. The contents of avicularin, manassantin A, manassantin B, and saucerneol D in the leaf, known gastritis inhibitory compounds, increased as elicitor treatment increased. S. chinensis extracts were administered to mice in a single oral dose of 0.25–2 g/kg, resulting in no observable toxicity after 1 week. S. chinensis ethanol extracts were administered to mice at a dose of 500 mg/kg before induction of gastritis by water-immersion restraint method. Macroscopic gastric hemorrhage and microscopic gastric damage assessed with hemorrhage, edema, epithelial cell damage, inflammatory cell infiltration, and ulcer were reduced by S. chinensis ethanol extracts. The elicitor-treated group showed a greater inhibitory effect on macroscopic and microscopic gastric damage. Elicitor-treated S. chinensis extracts inhibited gastritis more than non-treated S. chinensis extracts did, most likely due to greater anti-inflammatory effects. These results indicate that elicitor-treated S. chinensis extracts could be effective to prevent gastritis and could be used as a medicinal material source.