Effect of malotilate on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage in capsaicin-pretreated rats.

We studied the role of afferent sensory neurons in malotilate-mediated gastric mucosal protection, Intact and capsaicin sensory-denervated rats were used in the experiments, Gross gastric mucosal injury was assessed and evaluated as a main criterion of the gastroprotective effect of the tested substances. Besides malotilate, methyl-prostaglandin E-2 was applied alone or in combination with malotilate to compare the effects and the mechanism of action of both substances. The results revealed that both malotilate as well as methyl-prostaglandin E-2 exerted a significant protective action on 96 % ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage, However, there were no significant differences between intact and capsaicin-denervated rats. Only the use of 50 % ethanol as a milder mucosal irritating agent resulted in significant differences in both groups of animals. We propose that malotilate (like methyl-prostaglandin E-2) has a gastroprotective effect on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury. This effect is partly dependent on the sensory nervous system and the combination of both above substances has an additive effect.