Polyunsaturated fatty acid dietary supplementation: An adjuvant approach to treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that PUFAs may have a role in both duodenal ulcer incidence and H. pylori growth in vitro. This study investigated the effect of dietary PUFA supplementation on H. pylori in vivo. Fifteen H. pylori positive patients with mild functional dyspepsia were enrolled. H. pylori was histologically detected using both rapid urease test and histology by a blinded observer. Two grams of a dietary mixture of fish oil and blackcurrant seed oil (v/v) were fed daily for eight weeks and magnitude H. pylori infection determined both at the end of treatment and six months later. H. pylori clearance was obtained in eight out fifteen patients (53%). No migration of bacterium from antrum to fundus was observed. H. pylori eradication was obtained in 20% of these patients. The oil mixture used in this study produced good bacterial clearance, but poor H. pylori eradication. The effect of PUFA on H. pylori clearance may be due to modification of cellular membranes of both bacterium and host. These changes may reduce H. pylori virulence by interfering with bacterial adhesion to gastric epithelial cells or through a direct bactericidal effect on the micro-organism. If these data are confirmed, PUFA may be considered has adjuvant treatment for drugs usually employed for H. pylori eradication.