PROTECTIVE ACTION OF OMEPRAZOLE AGAINST GASTRIC-MUCOSAL INJURY-INDUCED BY HEMORRHAGIC-SHOCK IN RATS

The efficacy of omeprazole in preventing gastric mucosal injury induce d by hemorrhagic shock in rats and the putative mechanisms involved in this effect were investigated in the present study. Omeprazole did no t affect mean arterial blood pressure under both basal conditions and induction of hemorrhagic shock, but it evoked a marked increase in Alc ian blue recovery from gastric preepithelial mucus. The morphometric a nalysis of histological sections revealed that omeprazole caused a sig nificant reduction of hemorrhagic shock-induced damage of gastric muco sa. Ranitidine, used as the reference drug, failed to affect mean arte rial blood pressure, Alcian blue recovery from gastric mucus, or hemor rhagic shock-induced damage of gastric mucosa. Both omeprazole and ran itidine exerted a significant inhibition of gastric acid output from a nesthetized pylorus-ligated rats. Overall, the present results indicat e that omeprazole is effective in protecting gastric mucosa from necro tic damage induced by hemorrhagic shock and suggest that an enhancemen t of gastric mucus secretion contributes to this protective action.