Phytopharmacology and Helicobacter pylori: A review of the most important medicinal plants effective against Helicobacter pylori

Background: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common pathogenic bacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract, which is associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, and an increased risk of gastric carcinoma. The decrease in the effectiveness of standard treatments due to antibiotic resistance, side effects, and patient non-adherence has attracted the attention of researchers to the use of medicinal plants and phytochemical compounds. This study aimed to systematically review the most important medicinal plants with anti-H. pylori effects.
Materials and Methods: In this review, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar SID databases were searched without time limits until 2025. The keywords “Helicobacter pylori”, “medicinal plants”, “phytopharmacology”, “anti-H. pylori activity” and their Persian equivalents were used.
Results: Based on the findings, several Iranian and non-Iranian medicinal plants have significant inhibitory activity against H. pylori. The most important of them are Thymus kotschyanus, Terminalia chebula, Scrophularia striata, Thymus caramanicus, Commiphora myrrha, Punica granatum, Origanum syriacum.
Conclusion: The present review suggests that medicinal plants and their active metabolites can be considered as potential complementary or alternative options for the treatment of H. pylori infection, especially in the era of increasing drug resistance. However, further studies are necessary to determine the dosage, safety, pharmacokinetics, and synergistic effects with standard treatments before entering the clinical stage.