Abstract
Lemon (Citrus limon) fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world. In traditional medicine, lemon fruit juice is used as home remedy for a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. This study evaluates the effect of lemon juice on gastric and duodenal ulcers and determines its interaction with conventionally used antiulcer drugs; pantoprazole and ranitidine. The antiulcer activity of lemon juice at two different doses and its interaction antiulcer agents was evaluated in acetic acid induced chronic gastric ulcer, pylorus ligation induced gastric ulcer, ethanol induced gastric ulcer, stress induced gastric ulcer, indomethacin induced gastric ulcer and cysteamine induced duodenal ulcer models. In all these models, the common parameter determined was ulcer index. The lemon juice produced marginal ulcer healing effect and augmented the ulcer healing effect of pantoprazole and ranitidine in acetic acid induced chronic gastric ulcers, while in pylorus ligated rats, lemon juice demonstrated gastric antisecretory and antiulcer effect. Both doses of lemon juice also showed significant antiulcer effect in ethanol induced, stress induced and indomethacin induced gastric ulcers. The lemon juice also reduced ulcer area in cysteamine-induced duodenal ulcer. Lemon juice possesses dose dependent antiulcer effect and augments the antiulcer action pantoprazole and ranitidine in rats.