BPB Reports

Paper Details

BPB Reports
Vol. 9 No. 5 p.165-169 2026
Report
Gastroprotective Effects of Phellamurin Isolated from the Leaves of Phellodendron Amurense against Gastric Mucosal Injury in Rats
  • Ryuichiro Suzuki (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Josai University / ryu_suzu@josai.ac.jp)
  • Toru Tanaka (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Josai University / tanakato@josai.ac.jp)
Miku Goto , Ryuichiro Suzuki , Junki Tomita , Aiko Sano , Toru Kimura , Toru Tanaka
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Josai University
Received: June 27, 2026;   Accepted: September 01, 2026;   Released: October 02, 2026
Keywords: phellamurin, gastroprotection, oxidative stress, gastric epithelial cell, Helicobacter pylori
Abstracts

Phellamurin, a flavonoid isolated from the leaves of Phellodendron amurense (Rutaceae), has not yet been investigated for its effects on the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we evaluated its gastroprotective potential using an HCl/ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury model in rats and an oxidative stress model in primary cultured rat gastric mucosal cells. Oral administration of phellamurin significantly reduced gastric lesion areas. Phellamurin also protected gastric mucosal cells against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress at concentrations that did not show detectable cytotoxicity under the present assay conditions. Quantitative PCR analysis showed no significant changes in the expression levels of antioxidant-related genes or cyclooxygenase (COX) genes. Phellamurin moderately inhibited Helicobacter pylori growth at 1 mM but did not inhibit urease activity. These findings suggest that phellamurin exerts gastroprotective effects, possibly through antioxidant-related cytoprotective mechanisms, rather than through direct antibacterial or urease-inhibitory activity.