Effect of fucoidan on gut microbiota and its clinical efficacy in Helicobacter pylori eradication: a randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori alters the gut microbiota. Prebiotics can regulate the gut microbiota, but their role in H. pylori eradication remains unclear. This study conducted an unblinded randomised controlled trial at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Shandong Province, China. Ninety patients tested positive for H. pylori were randomised into standard quadruple therapy (SQT) group (SQ group), SQT + fucoidan combination group (SF group) and fucoidan + SQT sequential group (FS group). Stool samples were collected and investigated for clinical efficacy and gut microbiota composition. After eradication, the relative abundance of most conditional pathogens in the SQ group decreased (P < 0.05), and the abundance of several beneficial bacteria increased or decreased (P < 0.05). In the FS group, the abundance of most beneficial bacteria increased gradually over 0-12 weeks, whereas that of the conditional pathogens decreased (P < 0.05). The abundance of Bifidobacterium decreased in the SQ group, was unchanged in the SF group and increased in the FS group (P < 0.05). The abundance of most beneficial bacteria was significantly higher in the FS group than in the SQ and SF groups (P < 0.05). The efficacies of SF and FS in terms of the remission of clinical symptoms were significantly higher than that in the SQ group. Fucoidan considerably improved the gut dysbiosis caused by SQT. The gut microbiota can be maintained by the addition of fucoidan before therapy than by concomitant addition with therapy. Fucoidan-assisted SQT could relieve gastrointestinal symptoms in eradicating H. pylori. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.