Sensitivity of Helicobacter pylori to different bile salts.

The sensitivity of Helicobacter pylori to different unconjugated or conjugated bile acids both on BHI blood agar and in BHI broth supplemented with starch, horse serum or egg yolk was studied. Bile salts were more toxic in the medium containing starch than in the media containing horse serum or egg yolk, and unconjugated bile salts were more toxic than the conjugated salts. Deoxycholic acid was the most toxic of the bile acids studied. Ox bile was bacteriostatic at the 2% level. Bile Salts 3 mixture was bactericidal at a concentration of 0.25 mmol.