Assessment of antibacterial effect of garlic in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori using urease breath test

OBJECTIVE: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the most common pathogenic bacteria in the stomach. The aim of the current study was to explore the effect of oral garlic administration on bacterial urease activity inside the stomach and its contribution to the treatment of H. pylori infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this clinical trial, 15 patients were studied quantitatively with Urease Breath Test (UBT). The patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and a positive serum H. pylori IgG were enrolled. UBT was performed for each patient in three sessions as follows: at the beginning of the study, an initial UBT was performed based on which, the positive cases entered the study and the negative ones were excluded. Second UBT was done three days later in patients who were not receiving any treatment and were considered as the control, whereas the third UBT was performed three days after prescribing two medium-sized cloves of garlic (3 g) with their meal, twice a day (at noon and in the evening). The collected data were analyzed using ANOVA and Bonferroni tests and the significance level was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: the mean UBT significantly differed before and after treatment with garlic cloves, being significantly lower after garlic consumption. No meaningful difference was observed in the mean UBT without garlic consumption between the first and second steps. CONCLUSION: Raw garlic has anti-bacterial effects against H. pylori residing in the stomach and may be prescribed along with routine drugs for the treatment of gastric H. pylori infection.