Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (SGLT2i) are considered a new class antidiabetic agent, as well as lowering blood sugar, it has many positive effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of SLGT2i on the gastric mucosa.
Methods: We investigated the effects of empagliflozin on indomethacin-induced gastritis using 48 male Wistar Albino rats. We performed histopathological evaluations of gastric mucosa tissue. And we studied the levels of serum disulfide, native thiol, total thiol, and ischemia modified albumin, disulfide/native thiol ratio (SSSH), native thiol/total thiol percent ratio (SH total SH), and disulfide/total thiol percent ratio (SS total SH).
Results: We found that empagliflozin increased mucin production in rat gastric mucosa. Besides, we observed milder inflammation findings and lower gastritis scores in the empagliflozin receiving groups than the placebo groups. Native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels were lower in the indomethacin-induced gastritis groups.
Conclusions: This study is the first to investigate the effect of empagliflozin on the gastrointestinal tract in a rat model. We concluded that empagliflozin increased mucin production and revealed positive effects in an indomethacin-induced gastritis model.