Grapefruit extract may help heal stomach ulcers

A new study from Poland has found that grapefruit seed extract, which contains powerful antioxidants, may help heal stomach ulcers.

Study author Dr. Thomas Brzozowski, of the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, says that because grapefruit is acidic in nature, people with ulcers might assume that they should not include the fruit in their diet.

According to Brzozowski his research suggests the exact opposite.

He has found that the antioxidant properties found in grapefruit, and the ability of the fruit extract to limit oxidative stress in the ulcerative gastric mucosa has therapeutic properties that, when combined with additional therapies, can be especially beneficial for the healing of gastric ulcers.

In the study researchers gave different doses of the extract to rats with gastric ulcers. Rats treated with 10 milligrams/kilograms of the compound experienced a 50 percent reduction in gastric acid secretion which is one of the major causes of gastric ulcers, and a progressive decrease in the size of gastric ulcers following six and nine days of treatment.

The researchers also noted that grapefruit seed therapy promoted a major increase in blood flow at the ulcer sites.

The study was presented this week at the Digestive Disease Week 2005 conference in Chicago.