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Strawberries protect the stomach from alcohol

October 28, 2011 – In an
experiment on rats, European researchers have proven that eating strawberries
reduces the harm that alcohol can cause to the stomach mucous membrane.

October 28, 2011 – In an
experiment on rats, European researchers have proven that eating strawberries
reduces the harm that alcohol can cause to the stomach mucous membrane.

A team of Italian, Serbian
and Spanish researchers has confirmed the protecting effect that strawberries
have in a mammal stomach that has been damaged by alcohol. Scientists gave
ethanol (ethyl alcohol) to laboratory rats and, according to the study
published in the journal Plos One, have thus proved that the stomach mucous
membrane of those that had previously eaten strawberry extract suffered less
damage.

Sara Tulipani, researcher
at the University of Barcelona (UB) and co-author of the study explains that
“the positive effects of strawberries are not only linked to their antioxidant
capacity and high content of phenolic compounds (anthocyans) but also to the
fact that they activate the antioxidant defences and enzymes of the body.”

The conclusions of the
study state 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. This fruit could slow down the
formation of stomach ulcers in humans.

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 (UNIVPM,
Italy) suggests “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
(40 milligrams/day per kilo of weight) for 10 days before being given alcohol.

“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,” adds Battino.

Treatments for ulcers and
other gastric pathologies are currently in need of new protective medicines
with antioxidant properties. The compounds found within strawberries could be
the answer.