Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. Alleviates Indomethacin-Induced Acute Gastric Injury by Enhancing Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activity

Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. (white cabbage) is a valuable vegetable with diverse nutraceutical benefit. Present study aimed to investigate the preventive effects of B. oleracea extract (BOE) standardized by vitamin U on indomethacin (IND)-induced acute gastric injury in Sprague-Dawley rats. Pre-administration of three different doses of BOE (12.5–50 mg/kg) for 14 days significantly decreased visible ulcerative lesions in the gastric tissue. In addition, BOE alleviated IND-mediated increase in histological score with inhibiting invaded percentage of lesion and restoring mucosa thickness in peri-ulcerative region. BOE increased the gastric tissue bound to Alcian blue and inhibited the decrease in hexose, sialic acid, and collagen levels by IND, suggesting that BOE protects the gastric tissue through preserving mucus and mucosal integrity. Moreover, BOE pre-administration blocked the reduction of prostaglandin E2 and down-regulated histamine and mRNA expression related to secret gastric acid. Furthermore, BOE mitigated inflammatory responses in the gastric tissue by decreasing activity of myeloperoxidase and expression of nuclear factor-κB-dependent inflammatory genes. BOE also suppressed malondialdehyde with preventing the reduction of glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in the gastric tissue. Therefore, results from present study suggest that BOE will have a potential for preventing gastric injury.