Centaurea virgata Lam. Instigates EtOH‐Induced Gastric Toxicity/Ulcer In Vivo: Role of SOD/MDA, Bax/HSP 70, and TNF‐α/IL‐10

Centaurea virgata is broadly used as a traditional food and medicine across the globe for numerous health purposes. Although the species is reported to have antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activities, literature data on its gastroprotective effects are scarce. Due to numerous shortcomings of conventional anti‐ulcer drugs, natural products gained renewed interest as a safer alternative. This study aimed to investigate the acute toxicity and gastroprotective effects of the aerial part extracts of Centaurea virgata (APCV) on ethanol‐induced gastric ulcers in Sprague–Dawley rats. Rats were divided into 5 groups: normal control, ulcer control (saline + EtOH), reference (lansoprazole + EtOH), APCV 100 mg/kg + EtOH, and APCV 200 mg/kg + EtOH. APCV 100 or 200 mg/kg, administered orally 1 h before the ethanol‐induced ulcer procedure delivery, increased the protective index % (26.82% and 31.40%, respectively). The histopathological results (using H catalase by 59.07% and 90.37%; and upregulated IL‐10 by 24.40% and 79.52%, while significantly ( p < 0.01) lowering MDA by 25.97% and 38.77%, as well as significantly ( p < 0.001) downregulated IL‐6 by 14.67% and 33.08% and TNF‐α by 37.82% and 47.59%, respectively, compared to ulcer controls. It could also be noted that inhibited apoptosis (inhibited pro‐apoptotic Bax and increased HSP 70 appearances in gastric tissues) occurred in gastric tissues pretreated with APCV. Taken together, APCV exhibited a gastroprotective potential against gastric ulcers, which is attributed to its attenuation effects on oxidative stress, inflammatory, and apoptotic pathways.