Figure 3.

Eradication of intracellular bacterial infection in cultured HEp-2 cells after treatment with sulforaphane (SF) at 0.5×, 1×, and 5× the MIC for a clinical isolate (A, LBN201; 1, 2, and 10 μg/ml) and a reference strain (B, 26695; 2, 4, and 20 μg/ml) of H. pylori. HEp-2 cells were infected with H. pylori, extracellular bacteria were removed, and the mammalian cells were lysed at each sampling time to measure intracellular sulforaphane concentration and count cfu of H. pylori. Note the sharp demarcation between lack of activity (0.5× MIC) and bactericidal potency (1× MIC). Data points are the means of duplicate determinations; the asterisks indicate points below the limits of detection. Intracellular sulforaphane was calculated to be from 2- to 5-fold greater than initial external concentration, and gradually decreased over time.