The Effect of Oral Administration of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on the Nitrosative Stress of Patients Infected With Helicobacter pylori With Dyspeptic Symptoms

Helicobacter pylori is the cause of many stomach diseases such as chronic gastritis, peptic lesion, gastric cancer, and dyspepsia. It is indicated that the process of inflammation is associated with nitrosative stress. Besides, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have strong protective effects against inflammatory diseases, as well as bactericidal effects. Therefore, this study evaluated the beneficiary effects of PUFAs against nitrosative stress in patients infected with this bacterium with dyspeptic symptoms.

This study was a double-blinded clinical trial and the participants were 34 patients infected with H. pylori with dyspeptic symptoms. The patients were divided into 2 groups, and written consent was obtained from all participants. The control group was treated with a current antibiotic regimen and the case group was treated with an antibiotics regimen and PUFA supplement for 2 weeks. Then, biopsy and juice samples from patients’ stomachs were obtained before and after the treatment. The stomach biopsies were used for a quick urease test and juice samples were used via the Griess method for investigating nitric oxide (NO) levels.

In gastric mucosa, the mean levels of NO significantly reduced (P<0.0001) after treatment in the case group (5.36 ± 1.16 mmol/L( compared with the control group (2.72 ± 1.13 mmol/L).

The results showed that using omega supplement can improve the nitrosative stress occurred in patients with H. pylori infections and is useful for decreasing NO. Thus, it is suggested that the consumption of omega fatty acids in combination with standard therapy is effective in H. pylori eradication.