Prevention of Crystallization in Stones Infection by Chemical Inhibitors

Abstract

Struvite or magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MAP) is one of the components of urinary stone. It forms in human beings as a result of urinary tract infection with urea splitting organisms. These stones can grow rapidly forming "staghorn-calculi", which is a painful urological disorder. Therefore, it is of prime importance to study the growth and inhibition of struvite crystals. In the present work, we have exanimated the interactions between the enzyme urease and two inhibitors (aluminum and citrate acid) by molecular modeling methods. The results show that the presence of aluminum or citrate acid significantly affects struvite crystal growth. It suggested that our inhibitors induced morphology changes that reflect the interactions between the inhibitor and the crystal surfaces at a molecular level. Similar changes were observed in the presence of identical concentrations of citrate acid, and aluminum, emphasizing the unique interaction of phosphocitrate with the struvite crystal. .

In Vitro evaluation of anti-urolithiatic activity of Piper betle L.

“…Struvites account for 10-20% of all renal calculi (10) and are found more frequently in women and persons older than 50 years (11). The condition arises due to a high intake of phosphate and magnesium-based food along with synthetic supplements (12). It is formed due to the presence of urolithic microorganisms containing urease enzymes (13,14).…”

“…The enzyme leads to the fission of urea into ammonia molecules. Due to low water intake, ammonia splits into PO4 3-and Mg 2+ ions, thereby increasing the pH level of urine making it more alkaline (12,13,15). The raised pH level of urine reduces the solubility of magnesium ammonium phosphate and favours the precipitation of struvite crystals, thereby making the urine supersaturated which ultimately triggers the formation of struvite stones (13).…”