High intake of selenium, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, C, and E reduces growth of Helicobacter pylori in the guinea pig

Purpose. Helicobacter pylori is a human gastroduodenal pathogen associated with type-B gastritis and gastric cancer. Low gastric tissue antioxidant le vels are believed to increase the risk of developing gastric cancer. We inv estigated whether dietary antioxidant levels protect against infection and type-B gastritis in H. pylori-infected guinea pigs. Methods: Dunkin-Hartley guinea pigs infected for 6 weeks with H. pylori wer e fed diets with various antioxidant levels. Stomach specimens were culture d, and gastritis was graded from 0 to 3. Results: Supplementation with vitamins A, C, and E and with selenium yielde d H. pylori recovery from 17% of challenged animals, compared with 43% of t hose fed a control diet. Gastritis was scored at 0.33 and 0.93, respectivel y. Supplementation with only vitamin C or astaxanthin had less effect on ga stritis and recovery rate. In a second experiment, gastritis score in a group given vitamins A, C, E, and selenium and P-carotene was 2.25 and in a control group, it was 2.57. T he H. pylori recovery rate was 75 and 100%, respectively, with fewer coloni es from animals given antioxidant supplementation (P<0.05). Conclusions: A combination of antioxidants can protect against H. pylori in fection in guinea pigs. In animal studies, antioxidant intake should be low to optimize development of H. pylori-associated disease. Furthermore we es tablished that H. pylori causes severe gastritis in guinea pigs.