The aim of the present study was to search the effective ratio of whole plant of Fumaria vaillantii Loisel (Fumaria vaillantii L.) and fruit of Benincasa hispida Thunb. (Benincasa hispida T.) in composite form, namely "FVBH" for the management of
hypochlorhydria along with
iron deficiency in male albino rats.
Hypochlorhydria refers to suppression of
hydrochloric acid secretion by the stomach.
Hypochlorhydria was induced by
ranitidine in this study. We used four composite extracts of the mentioned plant and fruit with different ratios (1:1, 1:2, 2:1, and 3:2) for searching the most effective composite extract for the correction of
hypochlorhydria. Gastric acidity is an important factor for
iron absorption. Thus,
hypochlorhydria causes
iron deficiency in rat and it was prevented significantly by the extract treatment at the ratio of 1:1 of the said plant and fruit. The correction of
iron deficiency by the composite extract was compared with
iron supplementation to hypochlorhydric rat. It was found that preadministration followed by coadministration of FVBH-1 (1:1) able to prevent the
ranitidine-induced
hypochlorhydria and
iron deficiency. The composite extract, FVBH-1 (1:1) significantly (P<0.05) increased the
pepsin concentration,
chloride level in gastric juice,
iron levels in serum and liver along with blood
hemoglobin level than other ratios used here. Hence, it can be concluded that FVBH-1 (1:1) is an effective herbal formulation for the management of
hypochlorhydria and related
iron deficiency.