Treating or preventing reflux esophagitis may be as easy as complementing conventional acid suppression treatment with an antioxidant extract of the wormwood herb Artemisia asiatica.
Reflux esophagitis is an inflammation of the esophagus caused by regurgitation of the stomach contents, or acid reflux. The condition is more usually known by its symptom of heartburn which allegedly affects 10% of American adults every day. At present the treatment of reflux esophagitis is typically based on the suppression of acid. Therapy with readily accessible antioxidants such as vegetables and fruits may lend a hand in putting a stop to and treating the condition, researchers observed.
Investigators surgically induced reflux esophagitis in 60 rats and separated them into four different groups: one that received no treatment; two that were pretreated with 30 milligrams (mg) and 100 mg, respectively, of the oral antioxidant; and one that received the traditional Zantac treatment. A fifth group that was not subjected to reflux disease was used for evaluation.
The antioxidant treatment, rather than the traditional drug therapy, decreased the harshness of reflux disease and was more protecting against ulceration and inflammation of the esophagus. The best results were seen in rats that received 100 mg of the antioxidant. For instance, 80% of the rats that received no treatment developed large ulcers in the lower and middle parts of the esophagus, compared with 27% of the rats that received 30 mg of antioxidant treatment and 20% of the rats that received 100 mg of the antioxidant, the report indicates. On the other hand, nearly two thirds of the rats that received the acid suppressant developed ulcers. Rats treated with the antioxidant also exhibited greater evidence of healing in the affected areas of the esophagus and less cell damage than did the rats treated with ranitidine. At the end of the day, the rat model is nothing like human reflux disease, mainly because “humans do extremely well on acid suppression,” one of the authors noted.
