What Ulcetrol Is For, and What Is Actually in a Tablet
Ulcetrol is what people take for the burning, gnawing discomfort of gastritis and for stomach lining comfort, one tablet twice daily over an eight-week course. Each tablet carries 37.5 mg of PepZin GI zinc-L-carnosine giving 8 mg of zinc, 100 mg of mastic gum, 100 mg of slippery elm bark and 70 mg of calcium as carbonate.
The thinking behind the formula is sound and worth understanding. Zinc-L-carnosine is a mucosal compound used as a prescription medicine for gastric ulcers in Japan; mastic gum is the resin of the Pistacia lentiscus tree, long used around the Mediterranean for stomach complaints; slippery elm forms a mucilage that coats; and the calcium buffers a little acid. Four ingredients aimed at the same lining from four directions.
Read This Before You Buy: An Ulcer Needs Diagnosing
Most peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori, a bacterial infection of the stomach, and clearing that infection heals most active ulcers and keeps them from coming back. Clearing it takes an acid-reducing medicine plus two or three antibiotics over seven to fourteen days, on prescription, after a breath test or a stool test confirms it.
So a supplement taken for weeks while an untreated infection carries on is the most expensive way to handle stomach pain, in money and in time. Come and see our doctor, get the test, and if it is positive have the course prescribed. Then Ulcetrol alongside it, or after it, makes sense. Our doctor is at the pharmacy and can arrange the test, the prescription and the follow-up test in one visit.
How the Amounts Compare With the Research
This matters because it sets what to expect, and it is the honest version of the sales pitch. Zinc-L-carnosine has been studied at 150 mg a day. Two tablets of this give 75 mg, so half.
Mastic gum has been studied at 1 g a day for duodenal ulcer and at 350 mg three times daily for functional dyspepsia. Two tablets give 200 mg, so about a fifth. And slippery elm has traditionally been taken as one to three teaspoons of powder in a glass of water up to three times a day, which is several grams; two tablets give 200 mg. The calcium at 140 mg a day is a buffer rather than an antacid, since antacid doses run from several hundred milligrams upwards.
So Who Is This Tablet Actually For?
On those numbers, Ulcetrol suits someone who wants the four ingredients together, in one tablet, twice a day, over a defined course, without measuring powders or taking four separate products. That is a real and reasonable thing to want, and the convenience is what you are buying.
If what you want instead is a full studied amount of one ingredient, say so at the counter and we will put the right single product in your hand. Our Slippery Elm Bark capsules give 300 mg each, which is three times the slippery elm in an Ulcetrol tablet, and our DGL liquorice is a different approach to the same complaint. Our pharmacist will set it out plainly in a minute.
Eight Weeks, and the Reason Behind It
Eight weeks is the course, and then as needed. That is the right course length and the reason is worth knowing: zinc taken steadily competes with copper, and sustained zinc intake lowers copper in the blood, which matters over months rather than weeks.
At two tablets a day you are taking 16 mg of zinc, which sits comfortably inside sensible daily limits on its own. The thing to check is the rest of your cupboard, because zinc is in most multivitamins, many immune formulas and most prostate products. Bring us everything you take and our pharmacist will add up the zinc across the lot, which takes two minutes and is the single most useful thing we can do with this product.
Two Pollens, and Who Should Ask First
Both botanicals in this tablet carry an allergy note that nothing on a label makes obvious. Mastic gum should be avoided by anyone sensitive to pollen or to any part of the mastic plant, and slippery elm pollen is itself a recognised allergen.
Slippery elm also has a firmer position in pregnancy than most people expect: the reference position is to avoid it, because of possible effects on the womb. So please treat this tablet as one to ask our doctor about if you are pregnant or might be, rather than one to take and mention later. It is for adults, so a child with stomach pain needs our doctor rather than a share of a tablet.
What We Are Permitted to Tell You
No health claim is authorised for mastic gum, for slippery elm or for zinc-L-carnosine, and every botanical claim submitted in Europe remains on hold. Zinc does carry authorised claims, but at 8 mg a tablet this product is sold for the lining rather than for those, so we leave them out.
What we give you instead is every amount in the tablet, the studied amounts beside them, the course length and the reason for it, the zinc arithmetic to do across your other supplements, the two pollen cautions, the pregnancy position and the route to a test. On a product costing what this one costs, that is the information you are owed before you decide.
Is Ulcetrol Right for You?
Please talk to our pharmacist or our doctor before you buy if any of these apply to you.
- Vomiting blood, or black tarry stools. Go to a hospital now rather than reading further. Those are signs of bleeding in the stomach.
- Weight you did not mean to lose, difficulty swallowing, persistent vomiting, or anaemia. Please see our doctor the same day. Those are investigated rather than treated from a shelf.
- Stomach pain that has gone on for weeks, or a known ulcer. Come and get tested for Helicobacter pylori first. Clearing it is what heals most ulcers.
- Pregnancy, or any chance of it, or breastfeeding. The reference position on slippery elm is to avoid it in pregnancy, so this is one for our doctor to decide.
- Any pollen allergy, or a known allergy to mastic. Both botanicals here carry that caution.
- Other supplements containing zinc. Bring them in and we will add up the total with you.
Where to Buy Ulcetrol in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. At two tablets a day a pack runs for a known length of time, so tell us the pack size you want and we will work out how many months that covers before you order.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. Tell us the destination and we will confirm any import paperwork before the parcel leaves us.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. A stomach lining supplement like this one taken steadily month after month does far more than a single pack, so tell us who it is for and how many months you want covered and we will set up the repeat.
Why Buy Your Ulcetrol from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored. Kahawa Sukari is a real counter with real pharmacists behind it.
Our pharmacists will add up the zinc across everything else you take, compare the amounts in a tablet against the studied amounts, and say plainly when a test for Helicobacter pylori and our doctor come first. Our doctor is here too if you would rather have the whole question looked at properly.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Ulcetrol Tabs: Your Questions Answered
What is in each Ulcetrol tablet?
37.5 mg of PepZin GI zinc-L-carnosine providing 8 mg of zinc, 100 mg of mastic gum, 100 mg of slippery elm bark and 70 mg of calcium as carbonate. Sixty tablets to the bottle.
How do I take it?
One tablet twice daily, with or without food. An eight-week course is the recommendation, then as needed.
Why eight weeks and not longer?
Because zinc taken steadily competes with copper, and sustained zinc intake lowers copper in the blood. Over eight weeks that is not an issue; over many months it can be. If you want to carry on past eight weeks, come and talk to us.
How do the amounts compare with the research?
Zinc-L-carnosine has been studied at 150 mg a day and two tablets give 75 mg. Mastic gum has been studied at 1 g a day for duodenal ulcer and two tablets give 200 mg. Slippery elm has traditionally been taken in grams and two tablets give 200 mg. So this is the four ingredients together in convenient form rather than a full studied dose of any one of them.
So is it worth buying?
If what you want is the four together, twice a day, over a defined course without measuring powders, yes. If you want a full amount of one ingredient, tell our pharmacist and we will give you the single product instead.
Will it cure my ulcer?
We are not permitted to tell you that, and we would rather be useful. Most peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori, and clearing that infection with prescription antibiotics is what heals most active ulcers. Come and see our doctor for the test first.
Does it work against H. pylori?
Mastic gum has been looked at for exactly that and the results have not been convincing. Please do not rely on it. Eradication takes an acid-reducing medicine plus two or three antibiotics for seven to fourteen days, on prescription.
Can I take it with my other medicines?
Slippery elm can reduce how much of another medicine you absorb, so leave one to two hours between Ulcetrol and anything else you take. Bring us your list and our pharmacist will sort the timing.
I take a multivitamin. Does the zinc add up?
It does, and it is worth asking. Zinc is in most multivitamins, many immune formulas and most prostate products. Bring everything you take and we will total the zinc with you.
Can I take it in pregnancy?
Please ask our doctor first. The reference position on slippery elm, which is one of the four ingredients, is to avoid it in pregnancy.
Can children take it?
No, it is for adults. A child with stomach pain should see our doctor rather than take a share of an adult tablet.
I have hay fever. Is that a problem?
Worth mentioning to us. Mastic gum should be avoided by anyone sensitive to pollen or to the mastic plant, and slippery elm pollen is itself a recognised allergen.
When should I go straight to a hospital?
Vomiting blood or passing black tarry stools means going now. Unintended weight loss, difficulty swallowing, persistent vomiting or anaemia means seeing our doctor the same day.
Where can I buy Ulcetrol Tabs 60s in Kenya, and what does it cost?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. The current price is shown above. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request. At two tablets a day a bottle of sixty is one month, so an eight-week course is two bottles.
