MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE STOMACH WALL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AN ENERGY DRINK

In this study, adult white laboratory rats weighing 180–220 g were administered Red Bull energy drink intragastrically for 10, 30, and 60 days, and morphological changes in the stomach wall were investigated. No significant histological differences were found between the control and experimental groups after 10 days. By day 30, the experimental group showed mucosal edema, focal degenerative changes, and necrotic foci in the surface epithelium, together with hypertrophy of the epithelial lining and thickening of the muscular layers. By day 60, these changes were followed by a reduction in total mucosal thickness despite continued thickening of the muscular layers, suggesting a biphasic pattern of initial compensatory hypertrophy followed by decompensation. These findings indicate that prolonged energy drink consumption produces progressive structural injury to the gastric wall. Group differences at each time point were assessed using an unpaired, two-tailed Student's t-test, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.