The Therapeutic Effect of Carum copticum Seed Aqueous Extract on Peptic Ulcers Induced by Ibuprofen in Rat

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines are widely used today and of their side effects is gastric ulcer. This study is aimed at examining the effect of Carum copticum aquatic extract on healing gastric ulcers inducted using ibuprofen in an animal model.
Materials and Methods: Thirty heads of adult Wistar female rats were used in this empirical study. Gastric ulcer was inducted using ibuprofen. The animals were randomly divided into 5 groups. Then omeprazole or Carum copticum plant extract was administered (125, 250 and 500mg/kg doses) twice a day for two weeks. In the end, the number and area of the animals' gastric ulcers were assessed. To examine the side effects of the medicine on liver, the amount of liver enzymes Aspartate transferase (AST) and Alanine transferase (ALT) was measured in the animals' serum.
Results: Carum copticum plant aqueous extract had a significant effect on healing gastric ulcers comparing to the control group (p<0.05). The mean number and area of the gastric ulcers in the groups receiving the extract were significantly less than negative-control group (p<0.01). The amount of liver enzymes had also significantly (p<0.05) increased in the groups receiving the extract (250 and 500 mg/kg doses).
Conclusion: Carum copticum plant seed extract is effective in healing gastric ulcers and its effect is comparable with omeprazole. So, recognition of the extent and mechanism of the effect requires further studies