effect of pretreatment with extract of origanum vulgare leaves on experimental intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Background: origanum vulgare is used in traditional medicine for antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. objectives: the present study was designed to investigate the protective effects of o. vulgare leaves extract on experimentally induced intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (i/r) injury in rats. materials and methods: in this experimental study, 24 male wistar albino rats randomly divided into four groups. group i/r underwent ischemia-reperfusion of the intestine (45 minutes of ischemia followed by 1 hour of reperfusion). treatment groups i and ii were given o. vulgare extract (200 and 400 ppm) via oral gavages for 1 week before inducing i/r. group sham was given normal saline orally without inducing i/r. after the experiments, the jejunum was removed and the tissues were processed for histomorphometric examination of mucosa. results: the treatment with o. vulgare extract significantly decreased mucosal damages in the treatment groups compared to group i/r, while severe mucosal damages were observed in the group i/r. also, there was significant difference between treatment groups i and ii (p = 0.054). group sham observed normal intestinal mucosa. conclusions: according to the results of current study, administration of o. vulgare extract protects the intestinal mucosa from i/r injuries.