title: In vitro screening and evaluation of some Indian medicinal plants for their potential to inhibit Jack bean and bacterial ureases causing urinary infections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bacterial ureases play an important role in pathogenesis of urinary infections. Selection of plants was done on the basis of their uses by the local people for the treatment of various bacterial and urinary infections.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our investigation screens and evaluates 15 Indian medicinal plants for their possible urease inhibitory activity as well as their ability to inhibit bacteria causing urinary infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plant extracts in three different solvents (methanol, aqueous, and cow urine) were screened for their effect on Jack-bean urease using the phenol-hypochlorite method. Subsequently, seven bacterial strains were screened for their ability to release urease and further antimicrobial-linked urease inhibition activity and minimum inhibitory concentration of the tested extracts were evaluated by the agar well diffusion and microdilution method, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five plants out of 15 crude extracts revealed good urease inhibitory activity (≥ 20% at 1 mg/ml conc.) and IC50 values for these extracts ranged from 2.77 to 0.70 mg/ml. Further testing of these extracts on urease-producing bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus NCDC 109, S. aureus MTCC 3160, Proteus vulgaris MTCC 426, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 4030, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 7453) showed good anti-urease potency with an MIC ranging from 500 to 7.3 µg/ml.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of screening as well as susceptibility assay clearly revealed a strong urease inhibitory effect of Acacia nilotica L. (Fabaceae), Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (Phyllanthaceae), Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae), Rosa indica L. (Rosaceae), and Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae). Our findings may help to explain the beneficial effect of these plants against infections associated with the urease enzyme.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Kurukshetra University , Kurukshetra, Haryana , India.
authors.forename: Sheema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Pooja
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bharti
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Seasotiya
authors.forename: Anupma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Sunita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dalal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D032449:Canavalia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D002417:Cattle; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D007194:India; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000254:growth & development; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D014510:Urease / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D014510:Urease
keywords: Anti-urease susceptibility; Christensen’s urea agar; extraction yield; phenol–hypochlorite method; plant extracts; struvite stones; urease producing bacteria