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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, September 2000, p. 2452-2457, Vol. 44, No. 9
Department of Infectious Diseases and Medical
Microbiology, University of Lund, Lund,1 and
Department of Pathology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital,
Gothenburg,2 Sweden
Received 28 December 1999/Returned for modification 10 April
2000/Accepted 19 June 2000
Helicobacter pylori infection in humans is associated
with chronic type B gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric
carcinoma. A high intake of carotenoids and vitamin C has been proposed
to prevent development of gastric malignancies. The aim of this study was to explore if the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis
rich in the carotenoid astaxanthin and vitamin C can inhibit
experimental H. pylori infection in a BALB/cA mouse model.
Six-week-old BALB/cA mice were infected with the mouse-passaged
H. pylori strain 119/95. At 2 weeks postinoculation
mice were treated orally once daily for 10 days (i) with different
doses of algal meal rich in astaxanthin (0.4, 2, and 4 g/kg of body
weight, with the astaxanthin content at 10, 50, and 100 mg/kg,
respectively), (ii) with a control meal (algal meal without
astaxanthin, 4 g/kg), or (iii) with vitamin C (400 mg/kg). Five mice
from each group were sacrificed 1 day after the cessation of treatment,
and the other five animals were sacrificed 10 days after the cessation
of treatment. Culture of H. pylori and determination of the
inflammation score of the gastric mucosae were used to determine the
outcome of the treatment. Mice treated with astaxanthin-rich algal meal
or vitamin C showed significantly lower colonization levels and lower
inflammation scores than those of untreated or control-meal-treated
animals at 1 day and 10 days after the cessation of treatment. Lipid
peroxidation was significantly decreased in mice treated with the
astaxanthin-rich algal meal and vitamin C compared with that of animals
not treated or treated with the control meal. Both astaxanthin-rich
algal meal and vitamin C showed an inhibitory effect on H. pylori growth in vitro. In conclusion, antioxidants may be a new
strategy for treating H. pylori infection in humans.
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Astaxanthin-Rich Algal Meal and Vitamin C Inhibit
Helicobacter pylori Infection in BALB/cA Mice
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, University of Lund,
Sölvegatan 23, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden. Phone: 46 46 17 32 40. Fax:
46 46 15 25 64. E-mail: Torkel.Wadstrom{at}mmb.lu.se.
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