IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTI-HELICOBACTER PYLORI ACTIVITY OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE PROBIOTICS

Helicobacter pylori is a major etiological agent responsible for several gastric diseases such as gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. From the last two decades, standard triple therapy is mostly recommended for H. pylori eradication; however, its efficacy is restricted by antibiotic resistance. Hence, the present study aimed at exploration for novel therapeutic agents being warranted to overcome antibiotic-associated limitations in the current H. pylori eradication regimens. H. pylori DSMZ 10242 was procured and maintained at standard conditions. Anti-microbial assays were performed (in triplicates) to determine the susceptibility of this gastric pathogen to the selected probiotic formulations (Darolac-Z, Pre-Pro, Sporlac, VSL#3, and Yakult) and commonly prescribed antibiotics. The study convincingly reports that Darolac-Z containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Saccharomyces boulardii possess stronger anti-H. pylori activity (24.17 mm in 20 h of incubation) in comparison to other probiotics and antibiotics (maximum inhibitory zone observed is 18.4 mm after 48 h of incubation in case of amoxicillin). The probiotic supplementation containing L. rhamnosus and S. boulardii has a synergistic effect on the inhibition of H. pylori growth due to competitive inhibition or production of certain compounds that may possess therapeutic potential as recorded in previous studies. Moreover, in the future, it might be quite interesting to study the role of metabolic by-products of these two strains in the treatment of H. pylori­ induced gastric disorders in-vivo.