Antiurolithiatic Property ofMoringa oleiferaRoot Bark

Abstract

In spite of tremendous advances in the field of medicine, there is no truly satisfactory drug for the treatment of renal calculi. In the present study, the efficacy of the root bark of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) as an antiurolithiatic agent was investigated using an experimentally induced urolithiatic rat model. Hyperoxaluria was induced in rats using 0.75% ethylene glycol in water. Aqueous (AqE) (200 mg kg −1 body weight) and alcoholic extracts (AlcE) (200 mg kg −1 body weight) of the root bark of M. oleifera were given orally in curative and preventive regimens over a period of 28 days. Both the extracts significantly (P < 0.001) lowered the urinary excretion and kidney retention levels of oxalate, calcium and phosphate. Moreover, elevated serum levels of urea nitrogen, creatinine and uric acid were significantly (P < 0.001) reduced by the extracts. The results were comparable with the standard drug, cystone (750 mg kg −1 body weight). The reduction of stone forming constituents in urine and their decreased kidney retention reduces the solubility product of crystallizing salts such as calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate, which could contribute to the antiurolithiatic property of root bark of M. oleifera.

Evaluation of Antiurolithiatic Effect of Pedalium murex Fruit Extract in Ethylene Glycol-induced Nephrolithiasis in Rat

“…It has been reported that oxalate plays an important role in stone formation and have about 15-fold greater effect than urinary calcium. The changes in the urinary oxalate level are relatively much more important than those of calcium [24] . Elevated urinary calcium is a favouring factor for nucleation of calcium oxalate from urine and further crystal growth [31] .…”

“…Due to this, the waste products, particularly nitrogenous substances such as urea, creatinine, BUN and uric acid get accumulated in blood [24] . In calculi-induced rats, marked renal damage was seen as indicated by the elevated serum levels of creatinine, urea, BUN and uric acid, which are markers of glomerular and tubular damage.…”

“…In the present study, male rats were selected for induction of urolithiasis because the urinary system of male rats resembles that of humans and earlier studies shown that the amount of stone depositions was significantly less [24] . Moreover, estrogen inhibits the formation of calcium oxalate crystals in female rat [25] .…”

“…Hypocitraturia is the main metabolic abnormality in patients with renal stones. Investigations of citrate metabolism in stone formers have shown that tubular citrate reabsorption is the main mechanism regulating urinary citrate excretion [24] . The PMF treatment brought the urinary citrate excretion near to normal in Groups IV-VI.…”

Studies on trigonelline from Moringa oleifera and its in vitro regulation by feeding precursor in cell cultures

“…The plant is native to northern India where it was noted as medicinal plant around 2000 BC. The pods and leaves are rich in protein and minerals and cooked as vegetable (Verma et al, 1976), posses certain bioactivities such as antiurolithiatic (Karadi et al, 2008), anti-infl ammatory (Sulaiman et al, 2008), antiasthmatic (Agrawal & Mehta, 2008), antioxidant and hepatoprotective (Fakurazi et al, 2008) have been reported. In literature, the presence of trigonelline was not previously recorded in M. oleifera.…”