Grapefruit seed extract contains powerful antioxidants that may help heal stomach ulcers, according to a Polish study.
Study author Dr Thomas Brzozowski, of the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, told this week’s Digestive Disease Week 2005 conference in Chicago: "Because grapefruit is acidic in nature, people with ulcers might assume that they should not include the fruit in their diet.
"However, this research suggests the exact opposite. The antioxidant properties found in grapefruit and the ability of this fruit extract to limit oxidative stress in the ulcerative gastric mucosa have therapeutic properties that, when combined with additional therapies, can be especially beneficial for healing of gastric ulcers," Brzozowski said.
Researchers gave different doses of the extract to rats with gastric ulcers. Rats treated with 10 mg/kg of the compound experienced a 50 per cent reduction in gastric acid secretion (one of the major causes of gastric ulcers), and a progressive decrease in the size of gastric ulcers following six and nine days of treatment.
The grapefruit seed therapy also promoted a major increase in blood flow at the ulcer sites, the researchers note.
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