Preventive and therapeutic effects of: Lactobacillus rhamnosus SHA113 and its culture supernatant on alcoholic gastric ulcers

Background: Alcoholic gastric ulcers are currently a common upper gastrointestinal disease with a high recurrence rate, causing gastric perforation or even gastric cancer in severe cases. Lactobacillus rhamnosus was previously found to prevent alcoholic gastric ulcers, but its therapeutic effects were not illustrated. Aims: This study aims to illustrate the preventive and therapeutic effects of L. rhamnosus SHA113 cells and their culture supernatant on alcoholic gastric ulcers and explore the related mechanisms. Methods: An alcoholic gastric ulcer model was established by feeding mice with 75% ethanol once at a dosage of 10 ml per kg body weight. The L. rhamnosus SHA113 cells (SHA) and their culture supernatant (SHA-FS) were separately used to feed mice for 2 weeks before ethanol injury in preventive experiments and for 2 days after ethanol injury in therapeutic experiments. The mechanisms were analyzed in view of anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and intestinal barrier functions. Results: The preventive effects of SHA-FS were much better than those of SHA via similar mechanisms, such as promoting the secretion of mucus, improving the antioxidant capacity of the gastric mucosa, and inhibiting inflammation. In terms of the therapeutic effects, SHA-FS and SHA could accelerate the healing of damaged ulcers by improving the secretion of tight junction proteins and mucus proteins, increasing angiogenesis, and inhibiting the apoptosis of gastric epithelial cells. Conclusion: L. rhamnosus SHA113 and its culture supernatant had preventive and therapeutic effects on alcoholic gastric ulcers via anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways and the promotion of healing of damaged ulcers by enhancing intestinal barrier functions, respectively.