Anti-adhesive Activity of Maytenus ilicifolia Against Helicobacter pylori

Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek, Celastraceae, a Brazilian native medicinal plant, is widely used for the treatment of gastric ulcer. The present study aimed to investigate whether this plant can be correlated to an anti-virulence activity against Helicobacter pylori . Hydroalcoholic and hydroacetonic extracts did not influence the bacterial proliferation and had no relevant activity on the mitochondrial activity of human stomach AGS cells (1000 to 1 μg/ml). Flow-cytometric adhesion assay of fluorescent-labeled H. pylori J99 on AGS cells indicated significant anti-adhesive effects of hydroalcoholic extracts in the concentration range of 1000 to 250 μg/ml, and even stronger activity was observed for hydroacetonic extracts (IC 50 615 µg/ml). Analytical LC-MS studies of fractions revealed the presence of flavonoid glycosides and oligomeric proanthocyanidins. The active components were shown to interact predominantly with adhesion systems of H. pylori , while pre-treatment of the AGS cells resulted in less pronounced effects. Graphical Abstract