Helicobacter pylori infection: A brief overview on alternative natural treatments to conventional therapy

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori is a human gastric pathogen considered as the etiologic agent of several gastric disorders, that may range from chronic gastritis to more severe outcomes, including gastric cancer. The current therapeutic scheme relies on the combination of several pharmacological substances, namely antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors. However, the cure rates obtained have been declining over the years, mostly due to bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In this context, the use of non-antibiotic substances is of the utmost importance regarding H. pylori eradication. In this review, we present different classes of compounds obtained from natural sources that have shown to present anti-H. pylori potential; we briefly highlight their possible use in the context of developing new therapeutic approaches.

• Bioactive compounds
• bioengineering
• gastric cancer
• new therapies
• phytotherapy

Declaration of interest

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding projects BIOECOS – Valorização Integrada da Biomassa (QREN/FEDER: ALENT-09-0140-FEDER-000705) and PYLORICIDAL – Engineered Biomaterials with Helicobacter pylori bactericidal effect (PTDC/CTM-BPC/121149/2010).