Inhibition of urease activity by the main chemical component of clove oil

The aim of this study was the elucidation of the inhibitory influence of eugenol, the principal chemical component of clove oil on the activity of urease. Urease activity can bethe cause of some disease and pathogen infections including Helicobacter pylori which causes peptic ulcers. More than 50% of the populations harbor H. pylori. The increasing resistance of bacteria towards antibiotics is problematic and as an alternative, effective non-antibiotic compounds should be highly desirable since their use may be safer and more suitable to eradicate H. pylori. In this study, urease activity was measured by assaying the ammonia released as a result of enzyme activity which caused a rise in pH. Phenol red was used to indicate ammonia production. The activity was studied for 2 minutes. As a result of ammonia release phenol red color changed from yellow to pink that was measured in 570 nm wavelength. Urease inhibition by eugenol was time and concentration dependent. Inhibition raised with increasing the concentration of eugenol and time of incubation. After 5 minutes of incubation with eugenol, the enzyme activity was inhibited. Eugenol is described as a mixed inhibitor of urease enzyme and showed to bean effective inhibitor of urease and might serve as a template in the development of urease inhibitors in pharmaceuticals

Keywords:

Urease , Eugenol , Enzyme assay , Enzyme inhibition