Effects of EGF and allopurinol on prostaglandin and lipid peroxide levels in mucosa of stomach in restraint cold stress.

The cold and restraint gastric stress models were used in rats. Mucosal levels of prostaglandins, which have a protective effect on cells, and lipid peroxidation, a possible etiological factor in stress-induced gastric mucosal injuries, were investigated. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), which protects the gastric tissue from stress-induced lesions, and allopurinol, which inhibits xanthine oxidase, were given intraperitoneally. Both EGF and allopurinol decreased lipid peroxidation at the mucosal surface of the stomach. At the same time, allopurinol increased the serum gastrin levels and decreased the mucosal prostaglandin levels. It is concluded that EGF protects the gastric mucosal surface by way of increased tissue prostaglandin levels. EGF also decreased both serum gastrin and tissue malondialdehyde, an indicator of lipid peroxidation.