Authors

Abstract

Background and purpose: Today it is obvious that helicobacter pylorus is the most common cause of gastritis the world over. However, this organism plays an important part in the development of gastric ulcer and duodenum ulcer in particular. It is the cause of one of the most common infections in the world which involves at least half of the population in most communities. This study is therefore intended to study the antimicrobial effects of water and ethanol extracts of tumeric and cinnamon on five strains of helicobacter pylori.

Methods and Materials: Plants selected to act against five strains of Helicobacter pylori were tumeric and cinnamon, the ethanol and water extracts of which were isolated using the agar diffusion method and examined at Shariatee hospital in Tehran, Iran with gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastritis and gastric cancer. The specimens were transferred to the laboratory on transports.

Results: Among the ethanol and water extracts of the plants, tumeric juices had the highest antibacterial effects; the mean inhibitory growth zone diameter for water and ethanol extracts were 22 and 18mm respectively; while, the same figure for cinnamon were 18 and 12mm respectively.

Conclusion: Cinnamon and tumeric are of antibacterial effects and the antibacterial effect of water extracts of tumeric on helicobacter pylori is remarkable. Therefore, further research is recommended to be conducted on the isolated materials of these herbs.

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