The role of Mangifera indica and Psidium guajava in the treatment of peptic ulcer

Background: Modern day life style brings a lot of habitual changes in human beings that directly or indirectly affects individual health. For example, bad food eating habits leads to many disorders of gastrointestinal tract, such as peptic ulcer, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), constipation, diarrhea, gastritis, hemorrhoids and in some cases, an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Peptic ulcers occur due to factors like Spicy, acidic, fatty food items, alcohol consumption, smoking, persistent inflammation and unchecked oxidative damage etc. While standard treatments provide relief, their frequent side effects have sparked a growing interest in nature derived options. Based on traditional rationale, this investigation explores the protective promise of leaves from Mangifera indica (mango) and Psidium guajava (guava), containing/ consisting of bioactive compounds like mangiferin, limonene, quercetin and gallic acid etc.  that possess anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antioxidant and tissue healing properties through different pathways, including NF-κB blockade and free radical neutralization etc. 

Objective: To investigate the gastroprotective efficacy of Mangifera indica and Psidium guajava leaf extracts in formulating a topical mucoadhesive gel for managing mouth ulcers.

Methods: Leaves sourced and verified from Himachal Pradesh, India, underwent hydroalcoholic extraction (95% ethanol) via the Soxhlet method. Standard qualitative assays verified key phytoconstituents alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, glycosides, proteins and carbohydrates in the yields. These extracts (5% w/w each) were blended into a Carbopol 940 mucoadhesive gel matrix, enhanced with menthol for soothing, analgesia and rigorously tested for various physicochemical parameters including pH, viscosity, spread ability, homogeneity, drug content and irritancy. 

Results: The mucoadhesive mouth gel emerged as a cohesive, semi-solid preparation boasting a consistent light-green appearance, agreeable aroma, neutral pH (6.0–7.5), broad viscosity range (5,000–100,000 cP), superior spread ability, even distribution (±5% deviation) and reliable drug uniformity (95–99%), all while showing zero irritancy hallmarks of a formulation ready for real-world application. 

Conclusion: The formulation proved stable, exhibiting no phase separation or microbial contamination over the evaluation period. As such, this herbal mouth gel offers a natural, affordable and user-friendly alternative to standard treatments for oral ulcers. Scaling up production and conducting accelerated stability tests would further bolster its prospects for commercial rollout as a plant-based oral care solution.