The antilithiatic and antimicrobial properties of Duranta erecta

In this study, researchers from India investigated the anti-urolithiasis activity of the methanolic extract of Duranta erecta leaves. Their findings were published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.

• Urolithiasis — the formation of kidney stones — is the third most common disorder of the urinary system. It affects 10 to 15 percent of the world’s population.
• In recent years, the search for new antilithiatic drugs from natural sources has assumed greater importance.
• For their study, the researchers examined the presence of phytochemicals in D. erecta leaves, measured their yield in percentage, and assessed their antioxidant activity against DPPH and antimicrobial activity against some bacteria.
• They used nucleation assay and synthetic urine assay to analyze the antilithiatic properties of D. erecta and its ability to inhibit the formation of calcium oxalate and calcium oxalate monohydrate, respectively.
• They also used Wistar rats to confirm the antilithiatic properties of D. erecta in vivo.
• The researchers reported that D. erecta contains an abundance of phytochemicals, such as glycosides, saponins, sterols, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, alkaloids, carbohydrates and proteins. The methanolic extract of D. erecta had a very good yield (60 percent).
• D. erecta exhibited high antioxidant potential, with 93.51 percent inhibition of DPPH. This was comparable to ascorbic acid, which showed 94.71 percent DPPH inhibition.
• D. erecta also inhibited the formation of calcium oxalate and calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals. It showed antimicrobial activity via formation of zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli, Streptococcus aureus, Pseudomonas desmolyticum, and Bacillus subtilis.
• In vivo experiments confirmed the antilithiatic properties of D. erecta leaves.

Based on these results, the researchers concluded that D. erecta can be used to remove kidney stones and inhibit secondary bacterial infection in the kidneys.

Read the full article at this link.

Journal Reference:

Agawane SB, Gupta VS, Kulkarni MJ, Bhattacharya AK, Koratkar SS, Rao VK. PATHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF DURANTA ERECTA FOR THE TREATMENT OF UROLITHIASIS. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 2019;10(1):4–11. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2017.08.001