Antimicrobial and Anti-Biofilm Effect of an Electrolyzed Superoxidized Solution at Neutral-pH against Helicobacter pylori

The presence of Helicobacter pylori in the oral cavity has been associated to the failure of antimicrobial therapy in patients with gastrointestinal infection and the development of oral diseases. However, it has been reported that the maintenance of good oral hygiene can improve the therapeutic success rates, where the use of mouthwashes with anti-Helicobacter activity would help to achieve it. The aim was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of OxOral® mouthwash against H. pylori and its effect on biofilm formation. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of OxOral® (pH = 6.4–7.5, ORP = 650–900 mV) against H. pylori was calculated testing serial dilutions 0.117–15 ppm against 1 × 108 CFU/mL of H. pylori (ATCC® 700824™) by broth microdilution method using 96‐well plates. The H. pylori biofilm formation was determined by the optical density measurement at 600 nm from coverslips stained with 0.1% crystal violet. The gene expression of ureA, luxS, flaA, omp18, and lpxD were analyzed by RT‐qPCR. OxOral® cytotoxicity was evaluated in a human gingival fibroblast cell line by MTT assay. MIC was of 3.75 ppm, with 99.7 ± 7.7% bacterial growth inhibition. In the negative control, the biofilm formation was observed, whereas when bacteria were treated with OxOral® at 0.234, 0.469, and 0.938 ppm, an inhibition of 35.5 ± 0.9%, 89.1 ± 1.2%, and 99.9 ± 5.5% were obtained, respectively. The gene expression analysis showed that flaA, omp18, and lpxD genes were down‐regulated with OxOral® compared with control (). Low cytotoxicity of 16.5 ± 7.6% was observed at the highest dose (15 ppm); no significant differences were observed from 15 to 0.469 ppm compared to the control of untreated cells (). Our results reveal an important anti-Helicobacter activity of OxOral® and open the possibility of its therapeutic use new studies, which would increase the success rate of conventional therapies against H. pylori.