Fluvoxamine Suppressed Oxidative Stress Associated with Tissue Erosion

Centrally-acting drugs have been increasingly used for gastrointestinal diseases, such as opioids used for diarrhea and phenothiazine as antiemetic agents. Recent reports focused on the identification of the efficacy of these drugs in peptic ulcer protection; by tackling the oxidative stress associated with the inflammatory reaction of ulceration. The present study aimed to identify the differences between fluoxetine versus fluvoxamine in terms of antioxidant activity. To do so, an animal model of stress-induced ulcer was utilized by exposing rats to high doses of indomethacin and these rats were sub-classified into four groups (control, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, and misoprostol) for comparison. Blood samples were collected from the studied groups and analyzed by measuring plasma levels of total antioxidant and malondialdehyde (MDA). The results confirmed that fluvoxamine possesses an antioxidant activity that is comparable to misoprostol and significantly higher than that of fluoxetine effects; the latter showed a non-significant effect in ordinary doses. In conclusion, these findings might provide a clue for future directions for the discovery of new antiulcer agents through structural modification of the newly introduced antidepressant agents in clinical use.