Researchers have discovered that strawberries can protect the stomach lining from alcohol, boosting hopes of improved treatment of stomach ulcers。
The scientists gave ethanol to laboratory rats and found that the stomach mucous membrane of those which had eaten strawberry extract for the previous ten days suffered less damage。
Researcher Sara Tulipani, of the University of Barcelona, said: "The positive effects of strawberries are not only linked to their antioxidant capacity, but also to the fact that they activate the antioxidant defences and enzymes of the body."
Scientists say a diet rich in strawberries can help to prevent gastric illnesses and slow down the formation of stomach ulcers。
The scientists said ulcer treatments needed protective medicines with antioxidant properties, and the compounds found in strawberries could be the answer。
A team of Italian, Serbian and Spanish researchers were studying the mucous membrane, which contains special cells that produce acid and enzymes helping the body to break down. It also excretes mucus, which protects the lining from the acid。
The study found that a diet rich in strawberries can have a beneficial effect when it comes to preventing gastric illnesses that are related to the generation of free radicals or other reactive oxygen species。
Gastritis or inflammation of the stomach mucous membrane is related to alcohol consumption but can also be caused by viral infections or by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (such as aspirin) or medication used to treat against the Helicobacter pylori bacteria。
Maurizio Battino, coordinator of the research group at the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy said: "In these cases, the consumption of strawberries during or after pathology could lessen stomach mucous membrane damage."
The team found less ulcerations in the stomachs of those rats which had eaten strawberry extract (40mg/day per kilo of weight) for 10 days before being given alcohol。
Battino emphasises: "This study was not conceived as a way of mitigating the effects of getting drunk but rather as a way of discovering molecules in the stomach membrane that protect against the damaging effects of differing agents."