Overview of the phytomedicine approaches againstHelicobacter pylori

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) successfully colonizes the human stomach of the majority of the human population. This infection always causes chronic gastritis, but may evolve to serious outcomes, such as peptic ulcer, gastric carcinoma or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. H. pylori first line therapy recommended by the Maastricht-4 Consensus Report comprises the use of two antibiotics and a proton-pomp inhibitor, but in some regions failure associated with this treatment is already undesirable high. Indeed, treatment failure is one of the major problems associated with H. pylori infection and is mainly associated with bacterial antibiotic resistance. In order to counteract this situation, some effort has been allocated during the last years in the investigation of therapeutic alternatives beyond antibiotics. These include vaccines, probiotics, photodynamic inactivation and phage therapy, which are briefly revisited in this review. A particular focus on phytomedicine, also described as herbal therapy and botanical therapy, which consists in the use of plant extracts for medicinal purposes, is specifically addressed, namely considering its history, category of performed studies, tested compounds, active principle and mode of action. The herbs already experienced are highly diverse and usually selected from products with a long history of employment against diseases associated with H. pylori infection from each country own folk medicine. The studies demonstrated that many phytomedicine products have an anti-H. pylori activity and gastroprotective action. Although the mechanism of action is far from being completely understood, current knowledge correlates the beneficial action of herbs with inhibition of essential H. pylori enzymes, modulation of the host immune system and with attenuation of inflammation.

InsideHelicobacter pylori: A Serious Threat to Humans

“…Many studies used dried plant materials in form of powdered extracts and dissolved them in methanol, ethanol, acetone, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). This therapeutic syrup was successfully used to eliminate H. pylori infection (39). Apart from herbs, various natural fluids, such as saliva, milk, and serum, contain a multidimensional protein, which is glycated by various amino acids.…”

“…The survival of H. pylori at low pH is circumvented by ATPases, which are another target of resveratrol. Previous research suggests that these remarkable developments can help eliminate H. pylori infection (39).…”

“…Metalloproteinases play a significant role in the development of H. pylori infection. Curcumin has been found to inactivate and destroy metalloproteinases, associated with cancer progress (39).…”

Actividad antibacteriana in vitro de propóleos chilenos sobre Helicobacter pylori

“…Helicobacter pylori es una bacteria que coloniza la mucosa gástrica y se relaciona con gastritis crónica, úlcera gastro-duodenal y cáncer gástrico. La infección por H. pylori constituye una infección crónica extensamente difundida en la especie humana, afectando alrededor de 50% de la población mundial 7,8 . La erradicación de la infección por H. pylori contempla la administración de fármacos inhibidores de la bomba de protones asociado al uso combinado de dos antimicrobianos; los más usados son claritromicina más amoxicilina o metronidazol.…”

“…Este tratamiento brinda una tasa de eficacia que fluctúa entre 70 y 80%, lo que hace necesario buscar otras alternativas terapéuticas. Las fallas de la terapia se atribuyen especialmente a la adquisición de resistencia de la bacteria a los antimicrobianos comúnmente usados [8][9][10] . Considerando la importancia de este patógeno, existen pocos estudios que caractericen el efecto inhibitorio de propóleos sobre H. pylori 11 , más aún considerando el potencial uso farmacológico e inocuidad que poseen los nutracéuticos, Boyanova y cols., han demostrado que el propóleos y sus componentes fenólicos son capaces de inhibir in vitro el desarrollo de H. pylori 11,12 ; sin embargo, faltan estudios que complementen esta evidencia inicial.…”