Ethnopharmacological relevance: Sweetgum, Styrax liquidus (Turkish sweetgum) is a resinous exudate obtained from the wounded barks of Liquidambar orientalis Miller tree which belongs to Altingiaceae (Hamamelidaceae). The plant material has been used for the treatment of peptic ulcer symptoms in Turkish folk medicine since centuries. In order to evaluate the claimed activity, we studied the anti-ulcerogenic effect of Styrax liquidus by using an in vivo anti-ulcerogenic activity model and to determine the chemical composition of the balsam.
Materials and methods: Anti-ulcerogenic effects of the balsam "Styrax liquidus" itself and its fractions obtained by successive solvent extractions with chloroform and n-butanol, were investigated against the ethanol-induced peptic ulcer model in rats. The chloroform extract demonstrated a statistically significant gastroprotective effect. In addition, the chemical characterization of the volatiles obtained by microdistillation technique from the balsam and the sub-extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively.
Results: Pharmacological experiments have clearly demonstrated that 150 and 300mg/kg doses of Styrax liquidus given orally to rats showed significant gastric protection. On GC-MS analysis of the resin, overall, 31 compounds representing 99.8% of the total oil were identified where styrene (81.9%), cinnamyl alcohol (6.9%) and α-pinene (3.5%) were identified as the major components.
Conclusion: Present study confirmed the anti-ulcerogenic activity of the local ethnobotanical usage of Styrax liquidus in Turkey.
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