Full Length Research Paper

In vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of Lycopodium cernuum (Linn) Pic. Serm

Ndip R.N.^1,2, Ajonglefac A.N.¹, Mbullah S.M.¹, Tanih N.F.^1,2, Akoachere J-F T.K.¹, Ndip L.M.¹, Luma H.N.³, Wirmum C.⁴, Ngwa F.⁵ and Efange S.M.N.⁵

¹Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Buea, Box 63, Cameroon.

²Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa.

³Department of Gastroenterology, Douala General Hospital, Cameroon.

⁴Medicinal Foods and Plants (MEFLOPA), Bamenda, Cameroon.

⁵Department of Chemistry, University of Buea, Box 63, Cameroon.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: rndip@ufh.ac.za. Tel: (+27) 406 02 2364. Fax: (+27) 866 22 4759.

Accepted 17 September, 2008

Helicobacter pylori, a gram negative microaerophilic bacterium is a major etiological agent in duodenal, peptic and gastric ulcers. In this study, gastric biopsy samples were obtained from patients presenting with gastroduodenal complications. H. pylori was isolated from the specimens following standard microbiology procedures, and isolates subjected to pure fractions of Lycopodium cernuum extracts for antimicrobial assays. Extracts were fractionated by partition chromatography with solvents of increasing polarity to obtain pure fractions. The disk diffusion method was used to determine the susceptibility of 15 strains of H. pylori to the fractions. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for the most active fraction was also determined by the broth dilution method. Results were analyzed by the Fisher’s exact test. All the fractions tested demonstrated antimicrobial activity with zone diameters of inhibition between 0 - 30 mm. Of the 5 fractions obtained, the hexane (Hex) fraction was the most active. The lowest MIC and MBC recorded for the hexane (Hex) fraction were 0.016 and 0.125 mg/mL, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in the potency of the fraction on the different bacterial strains tested, both for the MIC and MBC. It is concluded that this plant may contain compounds with therapeutic activity, which may be found in the Hex fraction (100%).

Key words: Antibacterial, Lycopodium cernua, Helicobacter pylori, minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration.