Objective: To assess the clinical efficacy of fucoidan-assisted standard quadruple therapy (SQT) in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication and the improvement of gut microbiota.
Methods: An open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University in Shandong Province, China. Ninety patients who tested positive for H. pylori were randomized to the standard quadruple therapy (SQT) group (SQ), SQT + fucoidan combination group (SF), and fucoidan + sequential SQT group (FS), respectively. Stool samples were collected for gut microbiota composition at baseline and after treatment.
Results: After H. pylori eradication, the relative abundances of most conditional pathogens in the SQ decreased, while those of several beneficial bacteria increased or decreased (P < 0.05). In FS, the abundances of most beneficial bacteria increased gradually from baseline to week 12, while those of the conditional pathogens decreased (P < 0.05). The abundance of Bifidobacterium had a decreasing trend in SQ, but remained unchanged in SF and increased in FS (P < 0.05). The abundances of most beneficial bacteria were significantly higher in FS than in SQ and SF (P < 0.05). Addition of fucoidan enhanced symptom improvement during H. pylori eradication compared with SQT alone.
Conclusions: Fucoidan considerably improved gut dysbiosis during SQT for H. pylori eradication. Gut microbiota can be maintained by the addition of fucoidan before eradication therapy with SQT rather than by concomitant addition with therapy. Fucoidan-assisted SQT could relieve gastrointestinal symptoms during H. pylori eradication.
Keywords: 16s rDNA sequencing; Helicobacter pylori; fucoidan; gastrointestinal microbiome; standard quadruple therapy.
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Digestive Diseases published by Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.