Reporter investigates ten anti-Helicobacter pylori toothpastes: none of the effects claimed by the merchants is empirical

  Recently, a toothpaste that claims to be certified by Fudan University to "kill more than 97% of Helicobacter pylori in the oral cavity in 3 minutes" has been highly praised on the Internet. The toothpaste also claims that it will form a protective film in the oral cavity after brushing. It can continue to kill Helicobacter pylori within 12 hours.

A reporter from the Beijing News found that there are many toothpastes that "can kill Helicobacter pylori" on the market, and the price is much higher than ordinary toothpaste.

  So, what is the sterilization effect of this kind of toothpaste, and should the money be spent?

Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori is questioned

  A reporter from the Beijing News investigated 10 toothpastes sold in the market that promoted Helicobacter pylori inhibition. It was found that there were 3 types of domestic and foreign invention patent certificates, 5 types of reports issued by the testing agency, and 2 types only during promotion. It claims to have the effect of inhibiting Helicobacter pylori, but no relevant certification has been issued.

  Among the 3 toothpastes that can provide patent certificates, the names of the invention are "a toothpaste containing bovine lactoferrin", "toothpaste composition containing registered mass", and "anti-oral Helicobacter pylori traditional Chinese medicine toothpaste".

  Among them, the patent is "anti-oral Helicobacter pylori traditional Chinese medicine toothpaste", the trade name is Youluoshaxing HP toothpaste, except for humectant sorbitol, friction agent silicon dioxide, surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate and thickener hydroxyl In addition to common ingredients such as sodium methylcellulose, licorice, forsythia extract, and lactoferrin are special ingredients of this toothpaste.

  "The effect of the so-called antibacterial ingredients promoted by the merchants is not certain." Jiang Feng, chief physician of the Gastroenterology Department of Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, told the Beijing News reporter. Research shows that Coptis, Scutellaria, Rhubarb, Forsythia, Sophora flavescens, Andrographis paniculata Chinese medicines such as honeysuckle, Radix isatidis can inhibit Helicobacter pylori, but in order to achieve the antibacterial effect, it needs to be taken orally for a period of time instead of brushing teeth.

Effective in vitro testing does not mean effective in vivo

  Among the 5 toothpastes issued by the testing agency, the merchants advertised that 3 were tested and certified by Fudan University, 1 was certified by the Inspection and Quarantine Technology Center of Ningbo Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, and 1 was certified by Shanghai Ingel Co., Ltd. .

  A reporter from the Beijing News checked the relevant test reports issued by these toothpaste manufacturers and found that although they all indicated a high antibacterial rate, the experimental conditions and test temperatures in the experimental methods were quite different from the human environment.

  In this regard, Jiang Feng said that in the in vitro experiments, it proved that it has antibacterial effect, but it does not mean that it can also have antibacterial effect in vivo.

"Like this year's new crown epidemic, many drugs initially claimed to have an inhibitory effect on the new crown virus, but in fact they were only effective in in vitro cell tests. They have not undergone rigorous clinical trials and have no obvious effect on patients." Jiang Feng explained.

  Jiang Feng believes that even if the manufacturer claims to have a certificate issued by an authoritative organization, the results of these experiments may be able to achieve such an effect after a period of continuous use under certain conditions, which is not completely consistent with the daily use of toothpaste by consumers. the same.

Antibacterial toothpaste may improve bad breath

  Helicobacter pylori is a spiral-shaped, micro-anaerobic bacteria that requires very strict growth conditions.

It was successfully isolated from the gastric mucosal biopsy tissue of a patient with chronic active gastritis in 1983, and it is the only microorganism species known to survive in the human stomach.

In 1994, the World Health Organization officially identified Helicobacter pylori as a Class I (ie, positive) carcinogen.

On October 27, 2017, the list of carcinogens announced by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization was initially compiled for reference, and Helicobacter pylori (infection) was included in the list of carcinogens.

  Chi Tianyu, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology, Xuanwu Hospital of Beijing, introduced that Helicobacter pylori mainly grows in the stomach, and there will also be Helicobacter pylori on dental plaque in the mouth. In theory, if toothpaste contains some antibacterial and bactericidal drugs, use Later, it will have a certain inhibitory effect on Helicobacter pylori in the oral cavity.

"However, due to the complexity of bacterial eradication, multi-drug combination is usually required. A single drug or a short period of time usually cannot eradicate bacteria."

  Chi Tianyu said that the antibacterial toothpaste promoted by merchants may have a certain effect on improving bad breath.

It should be noted that bad breath is not simply related to oral diseases. Factors such as indigestion caused by digestive organs can also cause bad breath.

Various ways to prevent and treat Helicobacter pylori

  Helicobacter pylori is mainly transmitted through oral and fecal-oral routes. The "co-meal" dining style that Chinese people like can easily lead to the transmission of Helicobacter pylori.

Chi Tianyu suggested that the use of public chopsticks when dining, regular disinfection of tableware, regular replacement of toiletries, etc., have the effect of reducing Helicobacter pylori.

  "It is not necessary to pay attention to hygiene to avoid Helicobacter pylori infection. Many people may have been infected since childhood due to infections in their family members. Therefore, the detection of Helicobacter pylori is very important." Chi Tianyu introduced the detection of Helicobacter pylori. The method is very simple. It is mainly to perform a blowing test (carbon 13 or carbon 14 breath test), which can be carried out in general hospitals or physical examination institutions.

  Chi Tianyu said that the main drugs used to eradicate Helicobacter pylori today are quadruple therapy, and the medication time is about 10-14 days. If the patient has good compliance, most of the bacteria can be eradicated.

If the patient is resistant to antibiotics and cannot achieve the effect of eradicating the bacteria, then special tests should be carried out on them to detect which drugs their drug-resistant bacteria are sensitive to, and then use targeted drugs for sterilization.

Jiang Feng said that for drug-resistant Helicobacter pylori infection, the use of integrated Chinese and Western medicine can reduce the use of antibiotics and the occurrence of adverse reactions, and has a good clinical effect.

  Beijing News reporter Zhang Zhaohui