Traditional Asian and African medicine is using immature fruits from okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) as mucilaginous food against gastritis. This has been rationalized previously to be due to polysaccharides with inhibiting effects against the adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to stomach tissue. The current project study investigates this effect in mechanistical detail.

A standardized, dialyzed aqueous fresh extract (FE) from immature okra fruits was used for quantitative in vitro adhesion assay with FITC-labled H. pylori J99, AGS cells and FACS evaluation. Pinpointing of bacterial adhesins affected by FE was performed by dot-blot overlay assay with immobilized Lewisb, sialyl-Lewisa, H-1, laminin, fibronectin. 125I-radiolabeled FE polymer served for binding studies to different H. pylori strains and interaction experiments with BabA and SabA. Iron-nanoparticles with different coatings were used to investigate the influence of charge-dependency of interaction with H. pylori surface.

Last update 06.05.2013

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