Abstract

In this study, the effect of nitric oxide (NO) was investigated on ethanol induced gastric mucosal lesions in rats. A total of 36 rats were allocated to six groups: These were 1. Control group, 2. Control + NwNitro-L-arginine (N_wNA), 3. N_wNA + ethanol, 4. ethanol, 5. L-arginine + ethanol and 6. N_wNA + L-arginine + ethanol groups. It has been observed that administration of L-arginine exogenously, which is the precursor of NO besides ethanol in group 5, significantly reduced histopathologic damage and malonyledialdehyde leveis in tissue than those of groups 3 and 4. MDA levels in group 4 was lower than group 3 which NO was inhibited by administrating N_wNA. These results show the preventive role of NO in ethanol-induced gastric mucosal lesions.