In vitro and in vivo effects of the Mongolian drug Amu-ru 7 on Helicobacter pylori growth and viability.

ABSTRACT

Amu-ru 7, a Mongolian folk medicine, is used to treat digestive diseases such as gastritis and gastric and duodenal ulcers. We examined the effect of Amu-ru 7 on the growth and viability of Helicobacter pylori in vivo and in vitro. By the agar dilution method, the MIC of Amu-ru 7 for H. pylori strains was shown to be 100-200 µg/mL with a MIC(90) of 200 µg/mL. Two hundred micrograms per milliliter of Amu-ru 7 exhibited potent bactericidal activity against H. pylori in the stationary phase of growth 6 hr after treatment. Amu-ru 7 inhibited the growth of both AMPC-resistant and CAM-resistant strains, and also had a combined effect with AMPC on AMPC-resistant strain 403. The Amu-ru 7 inhibited biofilm formation by H. pylori and induced morphological changes, such as bleb-like formation and shortening of the cell. Although colonization of the stomach of the Mongolian gerbil by H. pylori was not cured by treatment with Amu-ru 7, both the mean number of H. pylori colonized and the colonization rate were decreased in Amu-ru 7 treated gerbils. These results suggest the effectiveness Amu-ru 7 as an adjunct therapy for eradication therapies consisting of a PPI combined with antibiotics.