A study on the determinants of the effects of Aloe vera on indomethacin induced ulcers in rats

Abstract

This study was performed to determine the effects of Aloe vera on indomethacin induced ulcers in rats. Albino rats 
(Wister strain) of either sex weighing between 150 and 200 gms were randomly allotted into four groups with six 
animals each. Indomethacin was administered orally in the dose of 20 mg/kg body weight and kept fasting for 6 h. A. 
vera powder was mixed with gum acacia, the solution was administered orally through the oral gavage to rats in the 
dose of 200 mg/kg. Omeprazole (20 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally as a standard drug for present study. 
At the end of the study, rats were sacrificed and stomachs were opened and stored in 5% formalin solution, ulcer 
index and histological changes were studied. Student-‘t’ test analysis was used for the present study. It was found 
that A. vera showed statistically significant anti-ulcer activity comparable to standard drug omeprazole. The mean 
ulcer indexes of two drugs were statistically significant (P value is < 0.001). Therefore, the results were suggestive 
of anti ulcerogenic activity of A. vera.