Susceptibility in vitro of Helicobacter pylori to cetylpyridinium chloride

The antimicrobial agent cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) which is used in the rapy of ore-pharyngeal infections and for antiseptic treatment of the oral cavity is active against different bacterial species. Determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the agar dilution technique re vealed that the gastric pathogen Helicobacter. pylori in vitro is highly su sceptible to CPC as indicated by an MIC of 10 mu M (3.4 mu g ml(-1)) which was significantly lower than the MIC of CPC against other bacterial species , which were analyzed in comparison to H. pylori. Bacteria of the genus Cam pylobacter, various Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherich ia coli showed higher MICs ranging from 100 mu M to 2 mM. In summary, this finding renders CPC-containing drugs candidates possibly useful for eradica tion or for the prevention of transmission of the gastric pathogen. (C) 199 9 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.