Asian Journal of Advances in Medical Science

Ethanol-induced gastric ulceration may be associated with biochemical and structural alterations in organs involved in ethanol metabolism, particularly the liver. Cymbopogon flexuosus is a medicinal plant containing phenolic and flavonoid constituents with reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study investigated the effects of aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of C. flexuosus on selected hepatic biomarkers and liver histology in Wistar rats with ethanol-induced gastric ulceration. Fifty adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned into ten groups of five animals each. Gastric ulceration was induced with ethanol, after which the animals received omeprazole (20 mg/kg), aqueous or ethanolic leaf extracts of C. flexuosus (200 or 400 mg/kg), or specified extract–omeprazole combinations for 28 days. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were determined, while liver tissues were examined histologically following haematoxylin and eosin staining. The ulcer control group showed increased ALT (32.66 ± 2.51 U/L) and ALP (57.66 ± 1.15 U/L) activities compared with the normal control group (16.33 ± 1.52 and 28.66 ± 1.15 U/L, respectively). Treatment with C. flexuosus extracts produced variable changes in hepatic biomarkers. The ethanolic extract at 400 mg/kg produced the lowest ALT activity among the extract-treated groups (19.00 ± 1.00 U/L), while the available photomicrographs showed differing hepatic architecture in the controls and selected treatment groups. The findings indicate that aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of C. flexuosus was associated with variable hepatic enzyme activities, whereas distinct histological images were available for groups 1–6 only. Further studies are warranted to clarify the mechanisms underlying these effects and the specific phytochemical constituents involved.