ENHANCEMENT OF ASPIRIN-INDUCED GASTRIC DAMAGE BY CHOLESTASIS IN RATS

In this study the severity of aspirin-induced gastric mucosal damage w as investigated in rats with obstructive cholestasis. Cholestasis was induced by ligation and resection of the bile duct under general anest hesia. Two weeks after operation, the rats were fasted for 24 hours. A spirin was administered orally in doses of 0, 128, 192, 266 and 335 mg /kg, and the animals were killed four hours after dosing. The dose of 266 mg/kg was chosen for a study of the time-dependency; other groups of animals were killed at time intervals of one, three, five, seven an d nine hours after aspirin administration. The results showed that asp irin induces more severe gastric damage in bile duct resected rats com pared with sham-operated and control animals. Salicylate levels of ser ums were also measured but there was no significant difference in seru m salicylate levels between bile duct resected, sham-operated and cont rol rats. It can be concluded that cholestasis can potentiate aspirin- induced gastric damage in rats. (C) 1998 Elsevier, Paris.