Inhibitory Effect of Probiotic Bacteria Isolated from Camel Milk on Clinical Strains of Drug-Resistant Helicobacter pylori

  ABSTRACT            Background and Objectives: Helicobacter pylori is the most common cause of gastritis and ulcer worldwide. Treatment of such infections may lead to failure due to drug resistance. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial effects of bacteria present in camel milk on the growth of drug-resistant clinical isolates of H. pylori.            Methods: In this cross-sectional study, biopsy samples from 75 patients with digestive symptoms were transferred to laboratory in transport medium containing homogeneous compounds. In order to isolate H. pylori, urease-positive biopsies were promptly cultured in brucella agar enriched with defibrinated sheep blood and fetal calf serum. Disk diffusion agar test was used to evaluate antibiotic susceptibility and agar well diffusion method was applied to study the antagonistic effect of probiotics isolated from camel milk on the H. pylori isolates.            Results: The frequency of H. pylori isolates was 42.7%. The highest rate of resistance was observed against metronidazole (56.3%). In addition, the rate of resistant to amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and clarithromycin and tetracycline was 31.3%, 18.8%, 15.6%, respectively. Lactobacillus plantarum (59.3%) was more frequent than other Lactobacillus species. L. plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus casei showed favorable inhibitory effects against the H. pylori isolates, but L. plantarum (with inhibition zone diameter of 20.3 mm) showed the highest inhibitory effect.            Conclusion: Considering the increasing rate of drug resistance and the inhibitory effect of probiotics isolated from milk, health providers recommend that promoting consumption of probiotic food seems beneficial for the general population and those suffering from gastrointestinal disorders.            Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Drug resistance, Camel, milk, Probiotics.