Aim: Helicobacter pylori infection is a worldwide infection, its eradication rates with conventional therapies have fallen to unacceptable levels. In this context we were interested in metformin, to determine its effect on H. pylori growth.
Materials & methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility tests and survival curves were performed in vitro and a H. pylori-infected mice model was used to determine metformin effect in vivo.
Results: Helicobacter pylori survival and growth were decreased in presence of metformin. Furthermore, metformin-treated mice had significantly less bacteria in their stomach than the untreated mice.
Conclusion: Our work is the first to demonstrate a direct antimicrobial effect of metformin on H. pylori, indicating that this molecule has not yet revealed its full potential.