149EFFECT OF ETHYL ACETATE FRACTION OF KIGELIA AFRICANA LEAF ON INFLAMMATION, LIPID LEVELS AND NEUTROPHIL INFILTRATION IN GASTRIC ULCER DISEASEThe study investigated the antiulcer potentials of Kigelia africana leaf on aspirin-induced gastric ulcer in rats. Fresh leaves of Kigelia africana was extracted with ethanol and fractionated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol. In vitro DPPH radical scavenging activity, FRAP and Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of the fractions showed that ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest activity and was used for the in vivo study. Pretreatment of wistar rats with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight of the ethyl acetate fraction lasted for 30 days after which gastric ulceration was induced in rats with a single dose of aspirin (200 mg/kg body weight) after overnight fasting. Several biochemical markers for ulceration were determined from the blood plasma, stomach tissue homogenate and gastric content. It was observed that the ethyl acetate fraction of Kigelia africana (EAKA) significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) total cholesterol, triglyceride levels, pH and mucin content which were decreased as a result of gastric insult caused by aspirin. Also, increase in ulcer index, pepsin activity, myeloperoxidase activity, nitric oxide and malondialdehyde level were significantly reduced by treatment with this fraction. The study concluded that the ethyl acetate fraction of Kigelia africana proved to be an effective antiulcer agent which may be considered in the management of gastric ulcer diseaseapalowooladayo@gmail.comResearch912019Gastric ulcer,Inflammation,Cholesterol,NSAID,Xanthine oxidase, Kigelia africana,AspirinApalowo O.E,Odukoya S.A,Babalola O.O,Areola J.O,Adekola M.BDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria,Department of Medical Biochemistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria,Department of Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Abeokuta, Nigeria