Anti-adhesive Activity of Maytenus ilicifolia Against Helicobacter pylori

Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek, Celastraceae, a Brazilian native medicinal plant, is widely used for the treatment of gastric ulcer. The present study aimed to investigate whether this plant can be correlated to an anti-virulence activity against Helicobacter pylori. Hydroalcoholic and hydroacetonic extracts did not influence the bacterial proliferation and had no relevant activity on the mitochondrial activity of human stomach AGS cells (1000 to 1 mu g/ml). Flow-cytometric adhesion assay of fluorescent-labeled H. pylori J99 on AGS cells indicated significant anti-adhesive effects of hydroalcoholic extracts in the concentration range of 1000 to 250 mu g/ml, and even stronger activity was observed for hydroacetonic extracts -(IC50 615 mu g/ ml). Analytical LC-MS studies of fractions revealed the presence of flavonoid glycosides and oligomeric proanthocyanidins. The active components were shown to interact predominantly with adhesion systems of H. pylori, while pre-treatment of the AGS cells resulted in less pronounced effects.