Effect of Herbal Extracts on Prevention of Urolithiasis In Vitro

Abstract

Urolithiasis is the accumulation and development of stones in any area of the urinary system. Most stones are primarily composed of calcium oxalate as the forms of monohydrate and dihydrate. There is a high demand for the ayurvedic medicine to treat urolithiasis due to lack of successful drugs. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of some selected herbs on inhibition of urolithiasis in-vitro. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of Bacopa monnieri whole plant, seeds of Cucumis melo, vegetative parts of Hygrophila auriculata and Vernonia cinerea were used for the study. Trisodium citrate was used as the positive control. Anti-urolithiasis activity was evaluated using UV/visible spectrophotometry by measuring crystallization kinetics of calcium oxalate in the presence and the absence of ethanol and water extracts of each sample by turbidimetry (620 nm) at 37 . Rates of crystal aggregation were calculated from the maximum slope of the aggregation graph or maximum decrease in optical density. Plateau time was calculated for all the extracts using aggregation graph. Morphological changes of calcium oxalate crystals in the presence and the absence of different extracts or positive control were observed under the light microscope. The results showed that water and ethanolic extracts of Hygrophila auriculata, Cucumis melo seeds and Bacopa monnieri have different capacity of inhibiting the aggregation of calcium oxalate crystals at different concentration whereas Vernonia cinerea plant extracts did not show considerable capacity. Water extract of Hygrophila auriculata showed the highest anti urolithiasis activity (having the lowest IC50 value = 123.99±37.44 ppm). Our findings shed some light on traditional use of Hygrophila auriculata, Cucumis melo seeds and Bacopa monnieri in the treatment of urolithiasis.