The present study was undertaken to evaluate anti ulcer activity of aqueous seed and rind extracts of Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) in ethanol induced gastric ulcer model in albino rats. The experiment was divided in to two models ( A: animals pre-treated with aqueous seed extract of watermelon ; B: those per-treated with aqueous rind extract of watermelon ) in each, four groups of rats were pre-treated with distilled water (control), Ranitidine (300mg/kg) for each, 150 and 300mg/kg seed and rind extracts were given to pre-treated animals in both models. Rats pre-treated with seed and rind extracts showed significant (P˂0.05) dose-dependent decrease in gastric lesions formation. Ulcerogenesis was significantly (P˂0.05) reduced in pre-treated groups compared with control (P˂0.05). However, the per centage curative effect was effectively high in (seed 75% and rind 70%) and was also dose dependent. The result indicates that Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) seed and rind possess potential gastroprotective and antiulcerogenic activities in ethanol induced gastric ulceration. And is probably due to high citrulline and flavonoid contents which might influence both NO synthesis and antioxidant defence mechanism that cumulatively inhibit gastric acid secretion.
Key words: Ulceration, ulcer index, Citrullus lanatus
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