PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND IN-VITRO ANTIUROLITHIATIC ACTIVITY OF PUNICA GRANATUM AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT

Pashanabheda is used as antiurolithiatic in Ayurveda. In the present study, Punica granatum is used for screening in-vitro antiurolithiatic potentials. Screening of in-vitro antiurolithiatic potentials of aqueous leaf extract of Punica granatum. The extract was subjected to Preliminary phytochemical analysis. In-vitro anti-urolithiatic activity was screened by nucleation and aggregation assay in which the formation and growth of CaOx crystals were quantified. The extract exhibited inhibitory action in both nucleation and aggregation assays to a significant level. In the aggregation assay gradual decrease in the CaOx crystal nucleation, as well as growth, was observed by light microscopy. The findings of the nucleation assay indicate that the extract inhibited the crystallization of CaOx in the solution. There were less and smaller particles with increasing concentration of the extract. The increasing concentrations of extract (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 µg/ml) inhibited the CaOx crystal growth. Punica granatum extract demonstrated slightly better results compared to Cystone standard solution to inhibit the formation of calcium oxalate dihydrate crystals in the nucleation assay. The aqueous leaf extract of Punica granatum has shown anti-urolithiatic effect by significantly reducing the size and growth of calculi in the in-vitro assays.