Purpose: Gastric ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a pathological event starting with tissue deoxygenation and then proceeding with the production of free oxygen radicals (FOR). For this reason, antioxidants are tested within the scope of gastric IR injury treatment. α-Lipoic acid (ALA) to be investigated in this study in terms of its protective effect against gastric IR injury is an endogenous antioxidant molecule synthesized from octanoic acid and cysteine in the cells.  The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ALA on IR induced gastric injury in male albino Wistar rats biochemically and histopathologically.

Materials and Methods: In the ALA+gastric ischemia-reperfusion group (AGIR) group, 100 mg/kg ALA was administered orally through a catheter. In the gastric ischemia-reperfusion group (GIR) and sham-operated group (SG), distilled water was administered as solvent. After 30 minutes of ALA and distilled water administration, all of the animals kept under anesthesia by intraperitoneal (ip) 25 mg/kg sodium thiopental sodium application and making the rats sniff xylazine at appropriate intervals. In order to induce IR lesions, the celiac artery of the animals in the AGIR and GIR groups was compressed with a clip to provide one hour of ischemia and three hours of reperfusion. The celiac artery of the SG group was closed with stitches without clipping. Then the rats were killed with a high dose (50 mg/kg) thiopental anesthesia. The biochemical and histopathological analyses were conducted on the gastric tissues removed from the killed rats.

Results: An increase for the amount of malondialdehyde (MDA), and a decrease in endogenous total antioxidant glutathione (tGSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were found in the tissue of gastric treated with GIR. ALA prevented the increase in MDA and decrease in tGSH and SOD levels in gastric tissue caused by IR. In addition, ALA alleviated severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage, polymorpho nuclear leukocyte infiltration, edema, dilated congested blood vessels and destruction in the stomach caused by IR.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that ALA protects stomach against oxidative damage of IR. It has been suggested that ALA could beneficial in the treatment of gastric IR injury.

Keywords: Alpha-lipoic acid, gastric ischemia-reperfusion, protective impact.

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Orhan Cimen

Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Erzincan University, Başbağlar Mah. 24100 Erzincan, Turkey