Efficacy of Combined Crude Extract of Curcuma longa and Moringa oleifera in the Prevention of Peptic Ulcer in Albino Rats

Aim: This study is aimed at investigating the prophylactic efficacy of combined extract of Curcuma
longa and Moringa oleifera leaf against indomethacin–induced ulcer in albino rats.
Place and Duration of Study: This research was carried out in Ibadan Nigeria between
November 2017 and January, 2018.
Methods: Fifty (50) healthy male albino rats with body weights between 150 and 200 g were used
for this study. They were randomly divided into ten groups of five rats each. Group I was  administered omeprazole for seven days, group II was administered Moringa oleifera leaf solution

for seven days, group III was administered Curcuma longa solution for seven days, group IV was
administered Curcuma longa + Moringa oleifera leaf solution for seven days and group V was
administered distilled water for seven days. This group served as the control group. Groups VI, VII,
VIII, IX and X were treated similarly as groups I, II, III, IV and V respectively but were treated for
fourteen days. At the end of the administration, the animals were fasted for 18 hours and 50 mg/kg
of indomethacin was administered orally (p.o) to the rats. After 8 hours of indomethacin
administration, the animals were anesthetized by chloroform anesthesia and sacrificed and the
stomach removed and opened along the greater curvature, rinsed with copious volume of normal
saline and pinned on a board to expose the stomach clearly.
Results: Animals treated with combined extracts of Curcuma longa + Moringa oleifera leaf showed
significantly increased ulcer inhibition (71.64%, 75.57%) when compared with those of Curcuma
longa (44.10%, 46.53%) and Moringa oleifera leaf (53.43%, 57.58) respectively but showed no
significant difference when compared with that of omeprazole (72.60%, 74.29%), the reference
drug after 7 and 14 days pre-treatment respectively.
Conclusion: The combined extract has a greater prophylactic efficacy against indomethacininduced ulcer than individual extracts and gave similar result as omeprazole. The combined extract
of Curcuma longa + Moringa oleifera leaf could be used as a prophylaxis against peptic ulcer
disease.