Anti-inflammatory efficiency of Ankaferd blood stopper in experimental distal colitis model.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Ankaferd blood stopper (ABS) is a herbal extract that enhances mucosal healing. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficiency of ABS in the treatment of experimental distal colitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty one male albino rats were divided into three groups: Sham control (Group 1), colitis induced by acetic acid and treated with saline (Group 2), colitis induced by acetic acid and treated with ABS (Group 3). At end of the 7 th day of induction, all the rats were lightly anesthetized with intramuscular ketamine (8 mg/kg) and thereafter laparotomy and total colectomy were performed. The distal colon segment was assessed macroscopically and microscopically. In addition malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and nitric oxide (NO) levels of the colonic tissue and changes in body weight were measured. RESULTS: The MDA and NO levels of the colonic tissues and weight loss were significantly higher in Group 2 compared to Group 1 and Group 3. Microscopic and macroscopic damage scores were significantly higher in Group 2 and Group 3 than Group 1 (P: 0.001, P: 0.004, respectively). Although the microscopic and macroscopic damage scores in Group 3 were slightly lower than Group 2, the difference was not statistically significant. The SOD levels of the colonic tissues were not different between the three groups. CONCLUSION: Weight alterations and high-levels of the colonic tissue MDA and NO suggested that ABS might have anti-inflammatory effects on experimental distal colitis. However, this suggestion was not supported by histopathological findings.

Oral high-dose ankaferd administration effects on gastrointestinal system.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) is a herbal extract obtained from five different plants. It has a therapeutic potential for the management of external hemorrhage and controlling gastrointestinal bleeding. However, ABS's effects are not unknown on gastrointestinal systems. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of short- and long-term systemic exposure and gastrointestinal safety following the oral administration of high-dose ABS in rats. METHODS: Eighteen healthy adult male rats were included into the study. The rats were divided into 4 groups: group A was fed with high dose ABS (2ml/Kg) for one week, group B for one month, group C for three months and group D's diet did not contain any ABS. On termination of the ABS treatment, the gastrointestinal system from the esophagus to the anus and the liver were surgically removed and histological investigated. RESULTS: During the study period, there was no mortality; signs of intoxication in any of the studied groups. No gastrointestinal tissue fibrosis, dysplasia, or metaplasia was detectable in any of the groups. The stomach had a normal morphology in all groups. However, the other gastrointestinal tract sections showed mucosal inflammation, goblet cell decrements, and intra-epithelial lymphocyte infiltration. The most common changes were mucosal inflammation in all rats in group B and C. Frequency of inflammation was greater in groups B and C in comparison to group A (P= 0.001). Loss of goblet cell and intra-epithelial lymphocyte infiltration were not significantly different between groups A and B (P=0.308 and P=0.189, respectively). However, there was significantly higher intra-epithelial lymphocyte infiltration in group C than in group A (P=0.04). Histopathological examination of the liver showed no inflammation, fibrosis, bile duct destruction or proliferation in any of the groups. However, each groups revealed vascular dilatation and erythrocyte accumulation at the sinusoidal structures of the liver. CONCLUSIONS: ABS seems to be a safe agent and it can be used for hemorrhage originated from gastric lesions. Further work needs to be done to establish whether ABS leads to be used to stop gastrointestinal bleeding.

Percutaneous ankaferd injection to in vivo liver tissue in comparison to ethanol in an experimental rat model.

AIM: Percutaneous ethanol injection is an established management of nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because of its high effectiveness and minimal invasiveness. However, ethanol has many disadvantages like less anti-tumoral necrotic effectivity, unequal permeation and local diffusion. The aim of this study is to compare hepatic tissue effects of percutaneous Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) injection in comparison to ethanol in rat liver tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-one healthy rats were randomly divided into three groups, each containing seven animals. Group I received 0.1cm(3) percutaneous injection of isotonic saline, group II received 0.1cm(3) ethanol, and group III received 0.1cm(3) ABS. At the 5th day, the livers were dissected. Macroscopic and histopathological features of the liver lesions were documented. RESULTS: All the rats in the group I and II lived during study period; one rat died in the ABS group. Macroscopic pale yellow coloration was observed within 2 minutes in both ethanol and ABS groups. Necrosis was observed in both Group II and III. The necrosis volumes of the ABS group (volume: 1475.00 ± 697.16 cm(3)) were significantly higher than the ethanol group (volume: 60.714 ± 26.277 cm(3)) (P=0.002). In the histopathological analyses of the liver tissues, aggregated erythrocytes in sinusoidal spaces and bile duct proliferation have been detected in ABS group. CONCLUSION: ABS may be considered as a possible percutaneous treatment in HCC instead of or as an alternative to ethanol. With its unique hemostatic actions and the safety profile, ABS can be considered as a useful novel agent for the percutaneous therapy of HCC instead of ethanol in the future.