Vitamin C and Ulcers

Vitamin C to Help Address Ulcers

In a study involving 171 subjects infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), supplementation with vitamin C was found to reduce the dose of antibiotics needed to effectively eradicate the infection. Subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups. For a period of 1 week, all subjects received 20 mg omeprazole (prilosec) and 1 g amoxicillin (an antibiotic). In addition, subjects in Group1 received 250 mg clarithromycin (Biaxin) twice a day; subjects in Group2 received 250 mg clarithromycin plus 500 mg vitamin C twice a day; and subjects in Group3 received 500 mg clarithromycin twice a day. The level of H. pylori eradication was assessed 6 weeks post-therapy via a 13C-urea breath test. Strains of the bacteria were tested and determined to be either clarithromycin-susceptible or clarithromycin-resistant. Results found that for subjects with clarithromycin-susceptible infections, therapy with vitamin C (500 mg/twice a day) plus clarithromycin (250 mg/twice a day) (Group2) led to significantly greater eradication of the infection than therapy with clarithromycin alone at a dose of 250 mg/twice a day, and was equivalent to eradication found among subjects taking clarithromycin at a dose of 500 mg/twice a day. For subjects with clarithromycin-resistant infections, all groups showed a poor eradication rate (less than 34%). The authors conclude that, "Adding vitamin C to one-week triple therapy can reduce the dosage of clarithromycin, but preserve the high eradication efficacy for clarithromycin susceptible H. pylori infection."