Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) ; Ethnopharmacological relevance: Curatella americana L. (Dilleneaceae) is a medicinal plant very frequently cited as acting against gastrointestinal disorders in ethnopharmacological inventories of the Cerrado region of Brazil.Aim of the study:The ethanolic extract (CEB)and infusion (BI)of Curatella americana bark were investigated for their ability to prevent and heal ulceration of the gastric mucosa.Materials and methods: The preventive and healing actions of Curatella americana were evaluated in experimental in vivo models in rodents that simulated this disease in human gastric mucosa.Results: CEB significantly decreased the severity of gastric damage formation induced by the combination of several gastroprotective models (HCl/ethanol, indomethacin/bethanecol, absolute ethanol, stress and pylorus ligature). But, unlike CEB, the BI did not exert gastroprotective effect. The gastroprotective action of CEB involved antisecretory action, augmentation of gastric mucus (48%) and participation of endogenous sulfhydryl compounds that increase efficacy of barrier mucosa against injurious agents. CEB also presents effective healing action in chronic gastric disease (1.90 +/- 0.55 vs. 6.86 +/- 0.46 mm(2) in the control) and its action mechanisms consisted of increasing the PGE(2) (40%) and somatostatin levels (269%) while decreasing the gastrin level in rat plasma (79%).Conclusions: The gastroprotective effect and healing action of Curatella americana involved modulation of PGE2, somatostatin and gastrin levels, probably due to the presence of oligomeric and polymeric proanthocyanidins in the bark. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.