OVERVIEW ON BISMUTH(III) AND BISMUTH(V) COMPLEXES WITH ACTIVITY AGAINST HELICOBACTER-PYLORI

Helicobacter pylori, a chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer causing bact erium, was rediscovered by Warren in 1983. The therapy to eradicate th e stomach bacterium includes antibiotics, bismuth compounds and proton pump inhibitors. After the success of the classical substances bismut h subsalicylate and bismuth subcitrate, numerous efforts have been mad e to synthesize bismuth complexes with improved antibacterial activity . Bismuth(III) complexes with thiosemicarbazones and dithiocarbazonic methylester derivatives, and bismuth(III) and bismuth(V) tropolonato c omplexes have shown promising activity against Helicobacter pylori in an agar dilution test. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.