Paper Title
Gastro-Protective Mechanisms of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Telfairia Occidentalis in Ethanol Induced Gastric Ulceration in Spraque Dawley Rats

Abstract
Gastric ulcer is a major health hazard in terms of both morbidity and mortality This study evaluated the effects of aqueous leaf extract of Telfairiaoccidentalis (500mg/kg) on ethanol (5ml/kg 75%) induced gastric ulcer in male spraquedawley rats. The study was in two phases, the phase 1 was concerned with evaluation of gastro-protective activities of the plant extract, while the second phase of the study focused on involvement of nitric oxide (NO), cGMP, K+ATP pathway, NP-SH compounds or Ca2+ channels in the gastro-protective activities of the extract. At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed to harvest the stomachs for the determination of gastric wall mucus, gastric acidity, ulcer indices, oxidative stress, endogenous antioxidant, prostaglandin, cytokins, macroscopic and histological study using standard laboratory procedures.Comparatively, the results of the study suggest that pre-treatment with T.occidentalis increased gastric wall mucus content, endogenous antioxidant, and prostaglandin but reduced gastric ulceration, oxidative stress, IL-8, and has apparent protective effect on gastric macroscopic and histological architecture. Judging by the findings of this study, T occidentalisis highly gastroprotective, and possibly involving NP-SH, K+ATP, and Ca2+ channel to mediate its gastroprotectivemechanism against ethanol induced gastric ulcer. Keywords - Telfairiaoccodentalis, Gastric Ulceration, MDA, GWM, Endogenous Antioxidant, Prostaglandin, IL-8, Gastric Acidity, TNF-α, Ethanol