Lycopene in vegetables and fruits helps prevent stomach ulcers

0

Helicobacter pylori – conditionally – the pathogenic microorganism is considered the most successful “colonizer” of the human gastrointestinal tract, infecting the stomachs of approximately 60% of the world's adult population.

H. pylori often infects the stomach in childhood and is known to cause peptic ulcers. These stomach lesions develop as a result of the pathogen damaging the protective lining of the stomach and small intestine, allowing stomach acid to form open ulcers. In addition to stomach ulcers, H. pylori infection is also associated with two other complications, namely gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach lining, and stomach cancer.

According to statistics, about half a million patients worldwide die from stomach cancer every year. Conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, very rarely improve outcomes for patients with stomach cancer. So, the focus of current research is on disrupting the pathway triggered by H. pylori that promotes hyperproliferation—the abnormally rapid division of cells that leads to cancer.

In a recent study, researchers at Yonsei University in South Korea found , that lycopene, a bioactive pigment with powerful antioxidant properties, may help prevent stomach disease associated with H. pylori infection.

Lycopene is a carotenoid commonly found in bright red and orange foods such as tomatoes, watermelons, papaya and pink grapefruit.

According to research, H. pylori infection promotes the hyperproliferation of gastric epithelial cells – the same cells that make up the lining of the stomach – by increasing the production of free radicals, called active forms oxygen (ROS). South Korean researchers suggested that due to the participation of ROS, lycopene, which has antioxidant and anticancer properties, can inhibit H. pylor-induced hyperproliferation by inhibiting the activation of signal transmission.