ABSTRACT
Numerous conditions are involved in the equilibrium between protective and aggressive factors for gastric mucosa injuring. Among them the lysosomal membrane stability plays a very important role in the inflammatory process. Zinc ion is a well-known lysosomal membrane stabilizer. When given orally to animals or even to humans it protects gastric mucosa against erosive lesions induced by a variety of experimental conditions. Compared with the control group (8,45 + 1,49 mU/mg) the lysosomes isolated from samples of gastric mucosa obtained from patients suffering of erosive gastropathies, showed a great liability on their membrane (18,37 + 4,52 mU/mg). When these patients were treated orally with zinc sulfate (100 mg of zinc element, twice a day, for two weeks) the lysosomes isolated from their gastric mucosa showed a strong reduction on enzymatic activity (5,49 + 1,02 mU/mg), probably due to increasing on the membrane stability. Based on these experimental findings we propose the use of zinc ion as na important adjuvant in treatment of erosive gastropathies.