Urease Inhibitory Potential of Crude Extracts and Their Isolated Fractions of Conyza canadensis

Abstract

Conyza canadensis (Canadian horseweed) has long been recognized for its therapeutic applications and could provide naturally occurring compounds with urease inhibitory effects. This paper discusses the urease inhibition properties of various solvent fractions of C. canadensis (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and butanol) and compares its actions with thiourea, which is a standard urease inhibitor. The results indicated that the butanol fraction exhibited the most potent urease (85.98%), followed by methanol (78.02% and ethyl acetate (67.09%). The IC50 values indicated that butanol and methanol fractions had a stronger inhibitory effect on the urease activity compared to ethyl acetate fraction. The findings are indicative of the fact that C. canadensis can serve as a source of natural urease inhibitors, which can potentially be used as an alternative treatment of urease-based gastrointestinal disorders such as Helicobacter pylori infections. Further studies are necessary to determine which specific bioactive compounds can have the desired effect and determine their therapeutic effectiveness.