AUTHOR=Zhu Zhixiang , Zou Yuanjing , Ou Ling , Chen Meiyun , Pang Yujiang , Li Hui , Hao Yajie , Su Bingmei , Lai Yuqian , Zhang Liping , Jia Junwei , Wei Ruixia , Zhang Guimin , Yao Meicun , Feng Zhong 

TITLE=Preliminary investigation of the in vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of Triphala

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1438193

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2024.1438193

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Triphala, is a composite of three individual botanical drugs: <italic>Terminalia chebula</italic>, <italic>Terminalia bellirica</italic>, and <italic>Emblica officinalis</italic>. It exhibits properties such as heatclearing, anti-inflammatory, anti-fatigue, antioxidant, and antibacterial effects,making it extensively utilized in India and Tibet. It has been found to exhibitinhibitory effects on <italic>Helicobacter pylori</italic> (<italic>H. pylori</italic>); however, further comprehensive research is still needed to elucidate its specific antibacterial mechanism. The present study investigates the in vitro antibacterial activity and antibacterial mechanism of Triphala against <italic>H. pylori</italic>.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Ours research investigates the <italic>in vitro</italic> inhibitory activity of Triphala on multiple standard and clinical strains using microdilution broth method, time-kill curve, time-bactericidal curve and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the antibacterial mechanism of Triphala is further explored through experiments on urease activity, biofilm formation, anti-adhesion properties, virulence actor assays using RT-qPCR and Western Blotting techniques.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The research findings indicate that Triphala exhibits a minimum inhibitory concentration of 80–320 μg/mL against both standard and clinical strains of <italic>H. pylori</italic>. Triphala exerts its <italic>anti-H. pylori</italic> effect by perturbing the microstructure of <italic>H. pylori</italic>, downregulating adhesion-associated genes (<italic>alpA, alpB, babA</italic>), urease-related genes (<italic>ureA, ureB, ureE, ureF</italic>), and flagellar genes (<italic>flaA, flaB</italic>); inhibiting bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, urease activity as well as <italic>CagA</italic> protein expression.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>These findings suggest that Triphala exerts inhibitory effects on <italic>H. pylori</italic> activity through multiple mechanisms, underscoring its potential as a new drug for the prevention and treatment of <italic>H. pylori</italic> infection.</p></sec>