Maytenus elicifolia ("Espinheira santa"), peptic ulcer and Helicobacter pylory

ABSTRACT

The plant Maytenus ilicifolia (populary called "Espinheira Santa") is used in Brazilian folk medicine to combat gastroduodenal affections. Experimental evidence has sugested that the plant has anti-ulcer activity although its mechanism of action is still unknown. To determine a possible effect of the plant on Helicobacter pulori (HP0, the major agent involved in gastroduodenal ulcer, 10 patients with duodenal ulcer and infected with HP were studied. The diagnosis of the presence of HP and the quatitative evaluation of a possible anti-urease activity or the supressor and/or eradicating action of a dry extract of the plant on HP were performed by the (14)C-urea breath test (UBT). All patients were submitted to four UBT the first upon admission to the study the second 20 min after the ingestion of a capsule containing 300 mg of a dry extract at 8-h intervals for one week, and the fourth one month after discontinuation of the preparation. One patient presented suppression of urease activity at the third UBT, but the activity had returned to basal values on the occasion of the fourth examination. We conclude that at the doses and formulation employed, Maytemus ilicifolia has no significant action against HP.