ABSTRACT
Helicobacter pylori is a microaerophilic, agellated, spiral, gram-negative bacterium, which colonizes the surface of the gastric mucosa and can cause gastric inammation, chronic active gastritis as well as peptic ulcer disease (PUD), and increased risk of gastric cancer [1]. About half of the world’s population is infected with H. pylori [2]. Most H. pylori infections are contracted in early childhood, and colonization may last for a lifetime [3,4]. Chronic colonization with H. pylori has been implicated in increased risk for gastric cancer including adenocarcinoma and a form of lymphoma involving the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue [5]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classied H. pylori infection as a Group 1 human carcinogen in 1994 and reconrmed this classication in 2009 [6]. Successful treatment and eradication of H. pylori has the potential to decrease the subsequent risk of gastric cancer by 30%–40% [6]. The goal of management of H. pylori infections is to induce eradication with the rst-line therapy prescribed, preventing the need for further treatments or procedures for the patient, the development of antibiotic resistance, and the spread of resistant H. pylori within the community. There has been increasing resistance reported to many of the antibiotics such as clarithromycin and metronidazole that are recommended for the rst-line treatment of H. pylori infection [7,8]. In light of this emerging resistance, there is a need for new remedies effective against H. pylori. The traditional use and anecdotal evidence of plants as medicine provide the basis for suggesting that plant extracts may be useful for specic medical conditions [9]. In recent years, phytochemicals derived from various fruits and vegetables have been shown to have in vitro and in vivo antibacterial, anti-inammatory, and antioxidant activities. This chapter provides a review of selected published literature on the impact of these phytochemicals on H. pylori infection.
