Urease is an important virulence factor for a variety of pathogenic bacteria strains such as Helicobacter pylori, which colonizes human gastric mucosa, and Proteus sp., responsible for urinary tract infections. Specific inhibition of urease activity could be a promising adjuvant strategy for eradication of these pathogens. Due to the interesting antiureolytic activity of carvone and the scant information regarding the inhibitory properties of corresponding monoterpenes, we decided to study selected monoterpenic ketones and their oxygen derivatives. Several monoterpenes and their terpenoid oxygen derivatives were evaluated in vitro against Sporosarcina pasteurii urease. The most effective inhibitors-derivatives of β-cyclocitral (ester 10 and bromolactone 14)-were described with [Formula: see text] of 46.7 µM and 45.8 µM, respectively. Active inhibitors of native urease were tested against H. pylori and Proteus mirabilis whole cells. Here, the most active inhibitor, 14, was characterized with IC50 values of 0.32 mM and 0.61 mM for P. mirabilis and H. pylori, respectively. The antibacterial activity of a few tested inhibitors was also observed. Compound 14 limited the growth of E. coli ([Formula: see text]= 250 μg/mL). Interestingly, 10 was the only compound that was effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. It had a [Formula: see text] of 150 μg/mL against E. coli and S. aureus. In the presented study a group of novel antiureolytic compounds was characterised. Besides carvone stereoisomers, these are the only terpenoid urease inhibitors described so far.
Keywords: Antiureolytic activity; Bacterial urease; Inhibitors; Terpenoid.