Role of trigonelline, a bioactive alkaloid in coffee, for kidney stone prevention

Abstract

Trigonelline is one of the major bioactive alkaloids in coffee. Beneficial effects of trigonelline have been widely reported in several diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. For the kidney, trigonelline exhibits several renoprotective effects, including antioxidative, antiinflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antifibrotic activities. In kidney stone disease (nephrolithiasis), consumption of either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee is associated with the stone risk reduction. The beneficial role of trigonelline against kidney stone disease has been demonstrated in a number of in vivo and in vitro studies. For example, the antilithiatic effect of aqueous extract from fenugreek seeds (rich with trigonelline) has been demonstrated in rats with calcium oxalate (CaOx) kidney stone induced by ethylene glycol. Such antilithiatic effect of trigonelline is most likely due to its inhibitory activities against CaOx crystallization, crystal growth, and crystal adhesion on renal tubular epithelial cells, all of which are the important processes for CaOx kidney stone formation.