Walnut and gut damage from painkillers in animal studies
What it found
Eating walnuts helped protect the stomach and gut lining from damage caused by painkiller drugs in animal tests.
This protection worked by boosting a natural enzyme called HO-1.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Gut protection in animals
In animal models given the painkiller indomethacin, eating walnuts helped rescue the stomach and gut lining from damage. Walnut extracts also protected cells in lab tests.
Studies in people and animals
HO-1 defends the stomach
Earlier work by the authors showed that HO-1 is key for protecting the stomach against many irritants. These include painkillers, alcohol, stress, toxic bile acids, and Helicobacter pylori infection.
Other findings
How walnuts work
Walnuts boosted levels of an enzyme called HO-1. This happened because walnut intake turned off a protein called Keap-1, which then activated a gene switch named Nrf-2 to produce more HO-1.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that eating walnuts is a reliable way to protect the gut from damage caused by painkiller drugs.
- Their findings point to the enzyme HO-1 as the main reason walnuts offer this protection.
How it was done
Painkiller drugs like aspirin can harm the stomach lining. The authors previously found that an enzyme called HO-1 helps defend the stomach against irritants including these drugs, alcohol, stress, and infections.
The authors gathered evidence from molecular experiments and animal models of gut damage caused by the painkiller indomethacin. They looked at how eating walnuts or using walnut extracts affected this damage.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These results come from animal models and lab tests on cells. Scientists do not yet know if eating walnuts protects the human stomach from painkiller damage in the same way.
- A review gathers existing research but cannot prove cause and effect on its own.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- CHA Cancer Prevention Research Center, South Korea; Gachon University, South Korea; CHA University Bundang Medical Center, South Korea
The paper
- Title
- Dietary walnut as food factor to rescue from NSAID-induced gastrointestinal mucosal damages
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- An JM, Kim EH, Lee H, Lee HJ, Hahm KB (2020). Dietary walnut as food factor to rescue from NSAID-induced gastrointestinal mucosal damages. Archives of biochemistry and biophysics. doi:10.1016/j.abb.2020.108466PubMed 32590067DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error