Antiulcerative effect of dexmedetomidine on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats

A gastroprotective effect occurs when α2 receptors are innervated. The dextro isomer of medetomidine, dexmedetomidine, is a highly selective α2-adrenoreceptor agonist. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dexmedetomidine has an antiulcerative effect and to show whether the antiulcer mechanism of dexmedetomidine is linked with oxidant/antioxidant parameters. The antiulcerative effect of dexmedetomidine was studied in an indomethacin-induced ulcer model, and some oxidant/antioxidant pa-rameters were measured in these gastric tissues. Whereas the average ulcerous areas for the groups that received 10, 25, 50, and 100 µg/kg dexmedetomidine doses were 29 ± 4.2,8 ± 2.1,0 ± 0 and0 ± 0 mm2, respectively, the ulcerous area was 52.1 ± 4.5 mm2 in the indomethacin control group and 0.5 ± 0.2 mm2 in the famotidine group. In conclusion, the α2-adrenoreceptor agonist dexmedetomidine showed a significant antiulcerative effect in rat gastric tissue at all doses. This antiulcerative effect is stronger with increasing dosage; at the 50 and 100 µg/kg doses, no ulcerous areas were observed. In light of these results, we conclude that there is a correlation between antiulcer mechanisms and α2-receptor activation. In rats given dexmedetomidine, all of the investigated antioxidant parameters increased, except for catalase (CAT). Conversely, aside from myeloperoxidase (MPO), all oxidant parameters decreased. Therefore, oxidant/antioxidant parameters play a role in the antiulcer mechanism of dexmedetomidine.