protect the belly from aspirin, maybe?

[Guest guest]

i'm new here, and still reading and learning, but i wanted to share this article i found. maybe you guys already saw it, but i didn't find it in the posts when i searched.

i'm planning my 3rd sinus surgery, then trying desensitation for the 1st time. but i've already started to pre-worry about the GI problems i might get from the aspirin.

of course i couldn't understand a lot of the full paper, there are even pictures of the stomach tissue, but i think it sounds like this supplement probably wouldn't hurt anything, and maybe might help. besides feeling sorry for the rats, what do you guys think about it?

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online & aid=2688544 & fulltextType=RA & fileId=S0007114508988747

Abstract

Apple polyphenol extracts prevent aspirin-induced damage to the rat gastric mucosa

Aspirin causes gastroduodenal ulcers and complications. Food bioactive compounds could exert beneficial effects in the gastrointestinal tract. We evaluated whether apple polyphenol extract (APE) reduced aspirin-induced injury to the rat gastric mucosa. Rats were treated with APE (10âˆ' 4 m catechin equivalent) before oral aspirin (200 mg/kg). Cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), transforming growth factor-á (TGFá) and heparin-binding epidermal-growth-factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) mRNA and protein expression were assessed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively; malondialdehyde (MDA) was determined by HPLC; gastric secretion was evaluated in pylorus-ligated rats. APE decreased acute and chronic aspirin injury both macroscopically and microscopically (approximately 50 % decrease in lesion score; P < 0·05). Aspirin up-regulated mRNA and protein expression of COX-2 and HB-EGF, but not of TGFá; APE reduced aspirin-induced mRNA and protein over-expression of COX-2 and HB-EGF; aspirin significantly increased gastric MDA and this effect was counteracted by APE pre-treatment. APE did not significantly affect gastric acid secretion. In conclusion, APE reduces aspirin-induced gastric injury independently of acid inhibition. We speculate that APE might be of therapeutic use in the prophylaxis of aspirin-related gastropathy.