Effects of aqueous and ethanolic fenugreek seed extracts on Escherichia coli urinary tract infection in BALB/C mice

The global prevalence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) demonstrates that 80% of cases reported to occur among women, in which 50 to 80% of them will experience at least one episode of UTIs in their lifetime especially during pregnancy. To address this growing concern, a traditional herbal medicine called fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-gracium Linn.) seed was proposed as a potential therapeutic ingredient for the treatment of UTIs. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutical properties of fenugreek seed extracts (FSE) extracted with water (Aq-) and 70% (v/v) ethanol (Et-) in UTI murine model. The compound profiling showed Et FSE contained more total phenolic content and phytochemical compounds than the Aq FSE. Both extracts were assessed for their treatment efficacy for UTI in a murine model. The assessment was done through two-step studies; the studies included a pilot and main studies. Through the pilot, the duration of treatment, incorporation of positive control for method validation and calculation of sample size were successfully determined. In the main study, the efficacy of treatments was quantified at 48- and 72 h post-treatment. Microbiological evaluation indicated E. coli persistence in urine (p < 0.05), bladder (p > 0.05) and kidney (p > 0.05) regardless of treatment types. The presence of E. coli in the spleen of negative control and FSE-treated mice suggested translocation of bacteria. However, lesser event appeared in Aq-FSE treated mice. Haematology profiling denoted Et FSE significantly (p < 0.05) increased the number of circulating neutrophils at 48 h post-treatment. This was supported by the higher expression of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the bladder and kidney of Et FSE-treated mice at 48 h post-treatment. G-CSF could be a good biomarker marker for UTI murine model as its expression was only quantified in infected model and below detection limit for uninfected mice. For the expression of IL-6 and IL-10, Aq FSE assisted in the inflammatory responses in the bladder and on the other hand, Et FSE played a more prominent role in kidney. These interesting findings indicated a preliminary idea on immunomodulatory properties of FSE in UTI murine model. Albeit propitious results in the other assays, the results of histopathological assessment could not be obtained due to the detachment of tissue samples from the histological slide that led to unsuccessful staining. Nonetheless, further study is warranted to shed light on the therapeutic mechanisms together with the isolation of active ingredients in FSE.

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