QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Yang, J.-C. Articles by Wang, T.-H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yang, J.-C. Articles by Wang, T.-H.

---

Nutrition and Disease

Effective Prevention and Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection Using a Combination of Catechins and Sialic Acid in AGS Cells and BALB/c Mice^1,2

Departments of ³ Internal Medicine, ⁴ Forensic Medicine and Pathology, and ⁵ Medical Research and ⁶ Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Hospital and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, 10043 Taipei, Taiwan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ctchien{at}ntuh.gov.tw.

The increasing emergence of Helicobacter pylori strains resistant to antibiotics may cause unsuccessful treatment. An alternative agent or mixture with anti-H. pylori effect is urgently required to reduce H. pylori infection. We explored the preventive and therapeutic potential of a combination of catechins and sialic acid on H. pylori-infected human gastric cells in vitro and in mice in vivo. We evaluated the anti-H. pylori activity of catechins and/or sialic acid using the agar dilution and checkerboard methods. The effect of catechins and/or sialic acid on H. pylori infection-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis/autophagy in cell culture was explored using an ultrasensitive chemiluminescence analyzer, immunocytochemistry, and Western blotting. Specific pathogen-free BALB/c mice were divided into uninfected control, infected control, pretreated, and post-treated groups. The effects of catechins/sialic acid were determined by histology and immunocytochemistry. The combination of catechins and sialic acid showed synergistic or additive anti-H. pylori activity and significantly reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and Bax/Bcl-2–mediated apoptosis but enhanced Beclin-1–mediated autophagy. All mice infected with H. pylori displayed gastritis and accumulation of 3-nitrotyrosine and 4-hydroxynonenal. Pretreatment with catechins/sialic acid completely prevented H. pylori infection and resulted in normal histology. Post-treatment with catechins/sialic acid decreased the bacterial load and gastritis score and eradicated up to 60% of H. pylori infections in a dose-dependent manner. This is the first demonstration to our knowledge of a nonprobiotic, nonantibiotic treatment that is 100% effective in preventing and has promising possibilities for treating H. pylori infection. Further studies are needed to confirm this result in humans.