Gastric ulcers are a significant medical problem and the development of
complications lead to significant mortality rates worldwide. In
Brazil,
Carthamus tinctorius L.,
Asteraceae,
seeds essential oil, the
safflower oil, is currently used as a thermogenic compound and as
treatment for problems related to the
cardiovascular system. In this study, by
Raman spectroscopy, it was shown that oleic and
linoleic acids are the compounds present in higher concentrations in the
safflower oil. We demonstrated that
safflower oil (750 mg/kg, p.o.) decrease the ulcerogenic lesions in
mice after the
administration of
hydrochloric acid-
ethanol. The
gastric ulcers induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drug (
NSAID) in
mice treated with
cholinomimetics were treated with four different doses of
safflower oil, of which, the
dose of 187.5 mg/kg (p.o.) showed significant antiulcerogenic properties (**p < 0.01). Moreover, the
safflower oil at doses of 187.5 mg/kg (i.d.) increased the
pH levels, gastric volume (**p < 0.01) and gastric
mucus production (***p < 0.001), and decreased the total
gastric acid secretion (***p < 0.001). The
acute toxicity tests showed that
safflower oil (5.000 mg/kg, p.o.) had no effect on
mortality or any other physiological parameter. Ecotoxicological tests performed using
Daphnia similis showed an EC50 at 223.17 mg/l, and therefore
safflower oil can be considered “non-toxic” based on the directive 93/67/
EEC on
risk assessment for new notified substances by European legislation. These results indicate that the antiulcer activity of
Safflower oil may be due to cytoprotective effects, which serve as support for new scientific studies related to this
pathology.