Figure 1.

Macroscopic appearance of gastric mucosal lesions of the rats in different groups. (a) Rats in the normal control group showed intact gastric mucosa. (b) The ulcer control group (pretreated with 5 mL/kg absolute alcohol) showed severe injuries to the gastric mucosa (white arrow). Absolute ethanol imposed extensive hemorrhagic necrosis to gastric mucosa. (c) The reference group (omeprazole 20 mg/kg) showed milder injuries to the gastric mucosa (white arrow) compared with the ulcer control rats. (d) Rat pre-treated with P. chinense (62.50 mg/kg) showed moderate injuries on the gastric mucosa (white arrow). (e) Pre-treated with 125 mg/kg of P. chinense extract suppressed lesions to a mild-moderate condition (white arrow). (f) Mild injuries of the gastric mucosa were found in those rats pre-treated with 250 mg/kg of P. chinense extract. (g) Pre-treatment with 500 mg/kg of the extract protected injuries at a mild condition and flattened the gastric mucosa observed (black arrow).