Inhibition of urease by extracts derived from 15 Chinese medicinal herbs

Pharm Biol. 2011 Jul;49(7):752-5. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2010.547205.

Abstract

Context: Helicobacter pylori is a major causative factor in gastritis-like disorders, and urease plays a key role in Helicobacter pylori colonizing and persisting in the mucous layer of the human stomach. In China, a variety of Chinese medicinal herbs have been prescribed to attenuate or eradicate gastritis-like disorders. However, little is known about the urease inhibition of Chinese medicinal herbs.

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the urease inhibition activities of the ethanol and water extracts of 15 Chinese medicinal herbs.

Materials and methods: The ethanol and water extracts derived from 15 medicinal herbs, traditionally used for the treatment of gastritis-like disorders in China, were tested for urease-inhibition activity using the phenol red method.

Results: Screened at 10 µg/mL, 14 ethanol extracts and 10 water extracts showed urease inhibition. The ethanol extracts of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. (Magnoliaceae) and Cassia obtusifolia L. (Leguminosae) possessed inhibition rates higher than 50% with IC₅₀ values of 6.5 and 12.3 µg/mL, respectively. After fractionating successively, the petroleum ether fraction of the ethanol extracts of Magnolia officinalis showed the best activity with 90.8% urease inhibition at a concentration of 10 µg/mL. The bioautography of the petroleum ether fraction indicated the existence of the urease inhibitors in the herb.

Discussion and conclusion: The present results indicated that some Chinese medicinal herbs might treat gastritis-like disorders via the inhibition of Helicobacter pylori urease and the further possibility for discovering useful novel urease inhibitors from the Chinese medicinal herbs.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / administration & dosage
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / pharmacology*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / administration & dosage
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Ethanol / chemistry
  • Helicobacter pylori / enzymology
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Solvents / chemistry
  • Urease / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Water / chemistry

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Solvents
  • Water
  • Ethanol
  • Urease