Investigation on antiurolithiatic activity of aqueous extract of Ananas fruit (in-vitro)

Abstract

Urolithiasis or kidney stone disease is a urologic ailment that has a high prevalence rate worldwide and medicinal plants have been widely used for alternative therapy. In this present study, the antiurolithiatic potential in Ananas nanus (dwarf pineapple) and Ananas comosus (L.) Merr (pineapple) fruit extracts were investigated through in-vitro assays. The fruit is extracted with aqueous distilled water via the decoction method. The antiurolithiatic properties were evaluated by titrimetric and turbidity assay. The results showed that A. nanus 2.5 fold higher (p < 0.05) than A. comosus but no significant difference with standard drug, cystone for titrimetric assay. For turbidity assay, A. nanus has significant antiurolithiatic properties (66.44 ± 3.30%) as compared to A. comosus (15.07 ± 0.59%) but lower than cystone (90.75 ± 6.42%). This might be influenced by the phytochemical contents found in the A. nanus, for instance, phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, and terpenoids. This finding indicates the potential of A. nanus to be developed into nutraceutical products for urolithiasis in the future.