THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF LICHEN PARMELIA PERLATA AGAINST DUAL DRUG-RESISTANT HELICOBACTER PYLORI ISOLATES

Objective: H. pylori have acquired resistance to the commonly used antibiotics due to their use in many anaerobic and parasitic infections leading to treatment failure of various gastroduodenal diseases associated with H. pylori infection. Our aim was to test the efficacy of Parmelia perlata which is traditionally used for the treatment of dysentery, diarrhea, and dyspepsia against antibiotic resistant gastric pathogen H. pylori.Methods: The antimicrobial activity of an ethanolic and methanolic extract of P. perlata against drug-resistant H. pylori isolates from North India in vitro was carried out by determining the Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) using disk diffusion method and microdilution method.Results: Two H. pylori isolates were included in this study. One was resistant to both metronidazole (MIC of 64 µg/ml) and clarithromycin (MIC of 4 µg/ml) and another one was resistant to metronidazole only having a MIC of 64 µg/ml. Methanolic and ethanolic extract of P. perlata showed its effectiveness in inhibiting drug resistant H. pylori isolates with maximum inhibition at 500 × 103 µg/ml concentration of P. perlata.Conclusion: Prevalence of metronidazole resistant ranges between 50–90% in developing countries including India with the emergence of dual-drug resistance was reported in many studies. This study suggests that P. perlata used commonly as a spice in food has a potential for the treatment of drug-resistant H. pylori infection in a safe and effective manner.Â