Phcog.Net | www.unanires.org 17 Jan 2011 | Vol 1 | Issue 1 Free Access: Available Online Unani Research Efficacy of Tukhm Kishneez (Coriandrum sativum Linn.) in stress induced gastric ulcer Nasreen Jahan 1 *Shagufta Nikhat 2 , Ghufran Ahmad 3 1 Lecturer, Department of Ilmul Advia, National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore, 560091, Karnataka 2 P.G. Scholar, Department of Ilmul Advia, National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore, 560091, Karnataka 3 Reader, Department of Ilmul Advia, AKT College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002 INTRODUCTION Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, which causes a high rate of morbidity. [1] It comprises both gastric and duodenal ulcers. The lifetime prevalence of peptic ulcer disease is 5-10 %. The therapy of peptic ulcer involves decreasing the secretion of acid with H 2 -receptor antagonist or proton pump inhibitor, neutralizing secreted acid with antacids and enhancing the mucosal protection mechanism by cytoprotective agents. Although these drugs have brought about remarkable changes in ulcer therapy but eficacy and safety of these drugs are still debatable. Reports on clinical evaluation of these drugs show that there are incidences of relapses, adverse effects and danger of drug interactions during ulcer therapy. [2,3] In recent times, focus on plant research has increased all over the world and a large body of evidence has been collected to show immense potential of medicinal plants used in various traditional systems. Most of the herbal drugs used in the management of peptic ulcer have been reported to reduce the offensive factors, they have been proved to be safe and effective and showed better patient tolerance. Hence, use of natural drugs alone or in combination with other drugs should be seriously considered in the management of PUD. [3] Since time immemorial, herbs including spices have been used in traditional medicine to treat a wide range of ailments, including gastrointestinal disorders such as dyspepsia, ABSTRACT Tukhm Kishneez (Coriandrum sativum Linn.) in Unani literature is mentioned for its anti-gastritis and anti-ulcer activity and also for its sedative, hypnotic, anti-anxiety and anti-stress activity. It has been studied scientifically for anti-ulcer activity on certain parameters but no study has been conducted so far, for its role in stress induced gastric ulcer. In view of its described effects in Unani literature and the recent scientific reports, Tukhm Kishneez was hypothesized to be effective in stress induced ulcer. Therefore, present study was designed to study the anti-ulcer effect of Tukhm Kishneez in stress induced gastric ulcer in rats. The effect of hydro alcoholic extract of test drug was studied in healthy adult Wistar rats of either sex; Ulcer was induced by Cold and Restraint method. Animals were divided into 8 groups of 8 animals each. Different groups represented Plain control (vehicle), Negative control (ulcer induced), standard control (Pre and Post-treated with ranitidine) and four test groups, two each for preventive (Pre- treated with 160 mg/kg, 273 mg/kg of extract of test drug) and curative (Post-treated with 160 mg/kg, 273 mg/kg) studies. Animals were treated for five days before or after the ulcer induction and sacrificed thereafter. The stomach of each animal was dissected out and observed under magnification for lesions. The scoring of lesions was done to calculate the ulcer index and ulcer score. Histopathological studies were also carried out. The results of this study showed that reduction in the ulcer score was found more in Post-treated animals (p < 0.01) than in Pre-treated (p < 0.05) animals and the significant decrease in ulcer index in Post-treated animals further demonstrated that curative effect of the test drug is more remarkable than protective effect. The test drug also showed dose dependent effect as indicated by ulcer scores and ulcer indexes in different groups at two different dose levels. Histological findings were in agreement with the ulcer index and ulcer score in all the groups. The study demonstrated that Tukhm Kishneez possessed significant anti-ulcer effect. The decrease in ulcer score & ulcer index and also histopathological evidences suggested that the test drug can ameliorate the gastric lesion, successfully. Keywords: Tukhm Kishneez; anti-ulcer; stress ulcer; ranitidine; Unani Medicine *Author for Correspondence: abidnasreen@yahoo.com