Vitamin C: A Preventative, Therapeutic Agent Against Helicobacter pylori

The treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) induced infections using antibiotic therapies is clinically well accepted; however, using a noninvasive approach with the implementation of therapeutic agents such as vitamin C is not well investigated. Vitamin C has certain characteristics, which allow for it to be considered as a potential treatment option for patients with H. pylori infections. Vitamin C's hostility and mechanism of action towards H. pylori infection in peptic ulcer disease can be classified into two categories: as a preventative agent and alternatively as a therapeutic agent. Preventatively vitamin C acts as a biological antioxidant as well as an immune boosting agent, while therapeutically it acts as an inhibitor of urease, a potential collagen synthesizing agent, and a stimulant in prostaglandin synthesis. As a result, the dosage of vitamin C should be highly regulated. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that vitamin C supplementation if taken with antibiotics can increase the efficiency of the treatment leading to an increased possibility of eradication of H. pylori in infected individuals. This paper will investigate the recent studies that show different mechanisms through which vitamin C can be used as a preventative or a therapeutic agent for the treatment of H. pylori related infections.