Extratos de plantas ricos em flavonoides no combate a infecção por Helicobacter pyroli como prevenção do câncer gástrico: Uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer and the third type of cancer to cause the highest mortality worldwide. The main cause is related to the infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which represents 90% of cases.. Current treatments have low success rates, which highlights the need for alternative treatments against carcinogenic agents, specifically H. pylori. Among these alternatives, we highlight the use of products of natural origin that contain metabolites pharmacologically active, such as flavonoids. Therefore, the objective of the study was to discuss the use of extracts rich in flavonoids with antimicrobial activity against H. pylori as a strategy for the prevention of gastric cancer. The searches were carried out on the PubMed and Science Direct databases for studies that reported the activity of flavonoids against H. pylori, published within a ten-year time frame (2010 to August 2020). Three reviewers determined the eligibility of publications according to predetermined criteria. The researches provided 1,773 publications, of which 44 were selected according to the search criteria. The plant family most found in publications was Fabaceae. Among the flavonoids identified after extraction, the most prevalent were quercetin, catechin and rutin, for example. Inhibition of urease, damage to genetic material, inhibition of protein synthesis and adhesion of the microorganism to host cells were the probable mechanisms found to explain the anti-H. pylori activity of the extracts. Plant extracts rich in flavonoids with anti-H. pylori potential proved to be promising sources of innovative therapy alternatives, reinforcing the relevance of studies with natural products.