Japanese researchers said a new type of "functional" yogurt available in some Pacific Rim countries appears to help prevent and fight ulcers and gastritis.

According to results of the first human clinical studies with the yogurt reported Sunday at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah, the yogurt helps fight the ulcer bug Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, which is responsible for a majority of the stomach ulcers and many cases of chronic gastritis is also suspected to promote stomach cancer. Scientists have been looking for cheaper and more convenient ways to treat this other than the conventionally used antibiotics and suppressants.

To show that that eating yogurt containing the antibody suppresses H. pylori activity in the stomach, as H. pylori depends on a protein called urease to infect the stomach lining, scientists created an antibody to urease called IgY-urease.

The researchers in the study had 42 people who had tested positive for H. pylori consume either two cups a day of regular yogurt or yogurt which was fortified with the antibody IgY-urease for 4 weeks. On retesting after a month they found that the people who had eaten the fortified yogurt had lower levels of urea which is a urease byproduct than those who ate regular yogurt which indicated less bacterial activity.

"Our data indicate that the suppression of H. pylori infection in humans could be achieved by taking functional yogurt fortified with urease antibody," Dr. Hajime Hatta, of the department of food and nutrition at Kyoto Women's University, Japan, told chemists gathered at the meeting.

The researchers said although antibiotics were seen to be more effective at controlling the intestinal bacteria than the yogurt, many people would prefer to add a few helpings of yogurt to their diet rather than take medication, especially since the antibody doesn't seem to alter the taste of the yogurt or cause obvious side effects, Hatta said.

"With this new yogurt, people can now enjoy the taste of yogurt while preventing or eliminating the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers," added Hatta.

According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than 25 million people in the United States have an ulcer at some point in their life.

Hatta warned that the yogurt already sold in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, may not be for everyone as it may cause a reaction in people who have allergies to milk or eggs.

Partial funding for the study was provided by Pharma Food International Company, Ltd. a Japanese firm that does research and development on the functional food ingredients, including the anti-H. pylori yogurt. In Japan the anti-H. pylori yogurt is sold in store shelves as "Dr. Prio," and in Korea, as "Gut."