Comparative efficacy of chamomile against omeprazole in aspirin-induced gastric ulcer in rats

The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of chamomile versus omeprazole in the treatment of aspirin-induced gastric ulcer in rats. Animals were randomly assigned into three groups A, B and C (n = 10 each). Aspirin (200 mg/kg, intragastric (i.g.)) was administered for three consecutive days, and then, two animals from each group were euthanized and formed the aspirin-induced gastric ulcer control group. The remaining animals (n = 8 in each group) were administered with the following treatments: normal saline 9 % (0/5 mL, i.g.) (group A), omeprazole (2.3 mg/kg, i.p.) (group B) or chamomile decoction (25 mL/kg, i.g.) (group C) daily for 2 weeks. Histological analysis of tissue harvested from rats in groups B and C showed no significant difference, since ulcers in both treatment groups were completely cured. The results of this study suggest that chamomile could be used for the treatment of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced ulcers as an inexpensive alternative to omeprazole.