Indomethacin damage to rat gastric mucosa is markedly dependent on luminal pH

Abstract

1. There is good evidence that acid is a prerequisite for aspirin induced gastric mucosal damage; however, there is inconsistent information available for non-salicylate NSAID. The present study examines the effect of gastric luminal pH on indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal damage. 2. Macroscopic gastric mucosal damage induced by indomethacin (40 mg/kg) or vehicle, administered intraduodenally to male pylorus-ligated rats (n = 5-10/group), was assessed at four different levels of luminal pH (2, 4, 5.5 and 7) by means of digital planimetry. 3. There was a marked difference in the extent of damage induced by indomethacin at the different luminal pH levels (P = 0.001). There was no difference..