Journal of Chemotherapy (Florence, Italy) Vol. 13, Issue 6, December 2001, Pages 611-614

Bactericidal activity of Pistacia lentiscus, mastic gum against Helicobacter pylori

Marone P, Bono L, Leone E, Bona S, Carretto E, Perversi L.

Laboratorio di Batteriologia e Micologia--Area Infettivologica, IRCCS S. Matteo, Pavia, Italy. Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.

Abstract

In this study we evaluated the antibacterial activity of mastic gum, a resin obtained from the Pistacia lentiscus tree, against clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori. The minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were obtained by a microdilution assay. Mastic gum killed 50% of the strains tested at a concentration of 125 microg/ml and 90% at a concentration of 500 microg/ml. The influence of sub-MBCs of mastic gum on the morphologies of H. pylori was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy. The lentiscus resin induced blebbing, morphological abnormalities and cellular fragmentation in H. pylori cells.