Rumex acetosa is a perennial herb that is widely distributed across eastern Asia. Although the hot water extract of R. acetosa has been used to treat
gastritis or
gastric ulcers as a
folk medicine, no scientific report exists for the use of this plant to treat
gastric ulcers. Hence, the present study was undertaken to assess the anti-
ulcer activity of water and 70%
ethanol extracts obtained from R. acetosa, using an HCl/
ethanol-induced
gastric ulcer model in mice. Anti-inflammatory and
free radical-scavenging activities of these two extracts were also evaluated and compared. As a result, the administration of R. acetosa extracts significantly reduced the occurrence of
gastric ulcers. However, significant differences in protective activity against
gastric ulcers were observed between the two samples. In the case of the group pretreated with an
ethanol extract dosage of 100 mg/kg, the protective effect (90.9%) was higher than that of water extract (41.2%). Under histological evaluation, pretreatment with R. acetosa extracts reversed negative effects, such as
inflammation,
edema, moderate hemorrhaging and loss of epithelial cells, presented by HCl/
ethanol-treated stomachs. Meanwhile, R. acetosa extracts showed potent DPPH radical-scavenging activity and decreased NO production in a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7, in a dose-dependent manner without affecting cellular viability. The greater anti-
ulcer and NO production inhibitory activities exhibited by
ethanol extracts compared to water extracts could be ascribed to the higher
emodin levels, a major
anthraquinone component of this plant.