L-cysteine and ulcer.
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 09:52:26 -0500
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: Ari Solovyova <asolovyo.INDIANA.EDU>
Subject: Stomach Ulcer (re)
Hello there,
I cured my ulcer with L-CYSTEINE -- a sulfur-containing aminoacid sold at every health food store. Next week after I started I felt I was myself again. (Before that I had tried *every* treatment, herbal and otherwise, that I could get my hands on, including the standard anti-Helicobacter package). I found this idea in MedLine by accident; but you can search for "cysteine" and "ulcer", or "sulfhydryl" (variants: "sulphydryl", "sulfhydril") and "ulcer" to find all relevant studies (some of them mention the effect of these agents on H. pylori). It is said to work for gastritis and ulcerative colitis as well, and for all kinds of ulcers, not just peptic. The other agent mentioned in some abstracts is DL-methionine-methyl sulphonium, also known as Vitamin U (see e.g. Mindell's Vitamin Bible), also containing sulfur as sulphydryl. This is the stuff that makes cabbage juice effective for ulcers (didn't do it for me, for some reason :-(; most likely, I didn't take enough of it). Garlic and nettles also contain lots of sulfur which may be one of the things that make them work for ulcers (search Medline for "ulcer" and "nettles" to see the connection).
More details: I started taking L-cysteine two months ago, having a relapse with acute pain; I took two 500 mg caps twice a day, before meals, with 1 glass of water, for 3 weeks, with 3 times as much vit. C as calcium ascorbate (it's recommended on the label as a preventative measure for side effects which involve kidneys; you can learn more about it in the library or the bookstore, or search MedLine for Cysteine-adverse-effects).
Now I'm not just painless -- *all* symptoms are gone, I can eat *anything* without unpleasant consequences (I don't eat bad stuff often anyway :-) ), etc.
Ari
P.S. Here are references to a few of those studies.
- 1993 - Protection against chronic gastric ulceration in the rat with sulfhydryl-containing agents. - J Pharm Sci 1992 Jul;81(7):698-700
Score: 1000, Lines: 44, Bytes: 1292 - 1993 - Sulphydryl-containing agents: a new approach to the problem of refractory peptic ulceration. - Pharmacology 1992;45(6):301-6
Score: 925, Lines: 50, Bytes: 1490 - 1993 - Role of sulphydryl-containing agents in the management of recurrent attacks of ulcerative colitis. A new approach. - Pharmacology 1992;45(6):307-18
Score: 606, Lines: 70, Bytes: 2252 - 1993 - Sulphydryl-containing agents stimulate the healing of duodenal ulceration in man. - Pharmacology 1992;45(3):170-80
Score: 554, Lines: 78, Bytes: 2476 - 1992 - Role of sulfhydryl-containing agents in the healing of erosive gastritis and chronic gastric ulceration in the rat. - J Pharm Sci 1992 Jan;81(1):70-3
Score: 1000, Lines: 72, Bytes: 2320
