ANTIULCER ACTIVITIES OF LICORICE AND ITS DERIVATIVES IN EXPERIMENTAL GASTRIC LESION-INDUCED BY IBUPROFEN IN RATS

Ibuprofen is a clinically important non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic and antipyretic drug widely used in the treatment of several forms of arthritis and for mild to moderate pain. Analogously to other aspirin-like drugs, ibuprofen irritates the gastric mucosa and liquorice extracts have long been used to treat peptic ulcers. In this study we examined the protective effect of liquorice or its derivatives against gastric ulcers induced by oral ibuprofen. A granular mixture of ibuprofen alone or coated with liquorice or its derivatives including deglycyrrhized liquorice (DGL), highly glycyrrhized liquorice (HGL), enoxolone (glycyrrhetinic acid) and carbenoxolone, were studied. Ibuprofen coated with liquorice, DGL or enoxolone reduced the number and size of ulcers, lowering the ulcer index from 1.86 to 1 and the incidence from 100 to 59%. Coating with other derivatives was less effective. Plasma concentrations of ibuprofen were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and showed that ibuprofen absorption was not affected by liquorice or its derivatives.