Abstract :

Kidney stone formation (aka urolithiasis) is an important prevalent condition in urological practice with a high recurrence rate. Etiologically, urolithiasis comprises a complex process resulting from a succession of physicochemical events starting with supersaturation, nucleation, growth, aggregation and finally retention anywhere within the kidneys. Epidemiologically, calcium oxalate is recognized as the predominant mineral in the majority of kidney stones where the mechanism of crystallization process is the main idea in urolithiasis. In the present study, effects of different subfractions derived from Coffea arabica green beans methanol extract were assessed based on the crystallization of calcium oxalate. Their effects on size, number and type of calcium oxalate crystals were indicated. Results revealed that ethyl acetate fraction possesses the highest concentration of calcium ion that means the strongest effect on dissolving calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals compared with cystone. In addition, results confirmed that Coffea arabica extract has antiurolithic activity via reducing crystal size through stimulating the formation of calcium oxalate dehydrate (COD) crystals out from calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM). The reduction of crystal size along with the diuretic effect enables the extract to play an important role in reducing the incidence of urolithiasis and facilitating their elimination.