Dr. Pauline M. Mureithi
Gastric ulceration is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Conventional drugs used to manage
this condition include prostaglandin analogues, proton pump inhibitors and antacids. The widespread
use of medicinal plants in managing ailments has been linked to their ease of accessibility and the
common belief that they are less toxic than allopathic drugs. Solanum nigrum, whose common name is
African night shade, is commonly used as a vegetable and in the treatment for various ailments including
gastric ulcers. However, scientific evidence for use of the genotypes grown and utilized in Kenya in ulcer
management is lacking. This study, therefore, aims at analyzing, through morphologic and morphometric
means, the antiulcerogenic potential of three Solanum nigrum genotypes (S. scabrum, S. sarrachoides
and S. villosum) grown in Kenya in preventing gastric ulcers.