15 August 2011
Adding vitamin C and vitamin E to standard therapy of H. pylori elimination may increase the rate of eradication, says a new Turkish study.
In the controlled trial, 200 patients infected with Helicobacter pylori were randomly assigned to two groups receiving a standard triple therapy, including lansoprazole (30 mg twice a day) plus amoxicillin (1000 mg twice a day) plus clarithromycin (500 mg twice a day) for 14 days, with or without a combination of vitamin C (500 mg twice a day) plus vitamin E (200 IU twice a day) for 30 days (1). The success of the H. pylori eradication was measured 4–6 weeks after the completion of therapy. The study results showed that eradication rates were significantly higher (up to 37%) in the group which had taken vitamin C and E supplements on top of the standard therapy.
The researchers concluded that supplementing standard triple therapy with high doses of vitamins C and E may increase the eradication rate of H. pylori. They suggested that the antioxidative vitamins C and E may decrease oxidative stress in the gastric mucosa and thus increase the efficacy of antibiotics as part of the triple therapy. Another explanation might be a vitamin-induced improvement in immunity.
Approximately 50% of the world’s population is infected with Helicobacter pylori, which was classified as grade 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organisation in 1994. H. pylori creates a microenvironment beneath the gastric mucosa to protect itself from gastric acid and the host defence systems. It was shown that oxidative stress increases in areas where H. pylori colonizes, which in turn leads to an increase in reactive oxygen species. The imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants caused by H. pylori explains the role of the bacteria in the development of gastric cancer. The currently accepted triple therapy regimens for H. pylori eradication include a proton pump inhibitor plus two antibiotics: amoxicillin and clarithromycin.
8 December 2013
Teenagers with adequate blood concentrations of beta-carotene and vitamins A, C, D and E perform better in physical fitness tests than those with low concentrations, a Spanish study suggests.
12 October 2011
Unlike other studies, a new US trial claims that daily supplementation with high doses of vitamin E over years may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.
30 March 2016
In 2009, the French Research Centre for the Study and Monitoring of Living Standards (Centre de Recherche pour l’Étude et l’Observation des Conditions de Vie, CRÉDOC) conducted a survey assessing the nutrition habits of over 400 French consumers.
