Effect of carbenoxolone sodium on aspirin-induced injury of the rat gastric mucosa

Investigations were performed in the rat to examine the effect of carbenoxolone sodium on aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury. Mucosal damage was quantitated histologically in the body of the stomach (corpus) after a single dose of aspirin and after 2 weeks of daily aspirin. Over dosage ranges of 2–30 mg/kg/day of carbenoxolone and 10–120 mg/kg of aspirin, carbenoxolone treatment conferred no protection, despite evidence of a significant carbenoxolone effect on gastric mucus. This contrasts with the known protective action of carbenoxolone against injury by restraint stress and by corticosteroids. Much current evidence suggests that the mechanisms of erosion production by aspirin differ from those by restraint stress and corticosteroids, and it is likely that the present findings reflect such differences in pathogenesis.