Effect of long term ranitidine treatment on gastric mucosal histamine content, histamine forming capacity and diamine oxidase activity in normal and restrained rats

ABSTRACT

The role of histamine in stress ulcer development was studied in female rats by measuring the level of gastric mucosal histamine, gastric histidine decarboxylase activity and intestinal diamine oxidase activity. Long-term administration of ranitidine, a new histamine H2-receptor antagonist, significantly protected the animals against the production of gastric lesions, in spite of the fact that the gastric mucosal histamine level and the gastric histidine decarboxylase activity were found to be best explained by its antisecretory action of H2-receptor antagonism, since no correlation was found between ulcer protection and gastric mucosal histamine content, histidine decarboxylase and diamine oxidase activities