Probiotics for Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infections and Gastric Cancer Prevention

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, and curved or spiral bacterium that lives in the stomach of 50% of humans. The bacterium causes various diseases, containing gastritis, stomach ulcer, and gastric cancer. Hence, eradicating the bacterium from the stomach is essential. Using several antibiotics to treat and eliminate H. pylori and creating resistant strains cause an imbalance of the normal intestinal flora. Therefore, the use of new therapies, such as the use of probiotics, is of particular importance. Yogurt contains probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium that balance the gastrointestinal microflora. Fruit and vegetable extracts are suitable carriers for probiotics. In this research, articles published in various sources were studied, including Web of Sciences databases, PubMed, Scopus, Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, and Google Scholar search engines. The search was conducted using the keywords H. pylori, probiotic therapy, gastritis, and stomach cancer. Probiotics produce different types of antibacterial compounds, including lactic acid, short-chain fatty acids, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocin. Therefore, they can play an important role in the treatment of H pylori infection. Various studies have shown that Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Pediococcus strains, and Saccharomyces boulardii have had inhibitory effects on H. pylori in vivo and in vitro. A combination of probiotics and antibiotics is more effective in eradicating and treating infections caused by H. pylori. Probiotics reduce inflammation by binding to epithelial cells and controlling the excretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Lactobacillus salivarius inhibits the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-8 stimulated by H. pylori in gastric epithelial cells.