Maslinic acid, a naturally occurring 6-6-6-6-6 dihydroxy triterpenic acid is extractable from the fruits of olive (Olea europaea) as a white crystalline solid. This molecule can undergo spontaneous self-assembly in different aqueous-organic binary liquid mixures to yielding vesicles of nano to micrometer dimensions (B.G. Bag, S.N. Hasan, S. Ghorai, S.K. Panja, ACS Omega, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b03667). Herein, we report our detailed investigation of the critical vesicular concentration (CVC) of self-assembled vesicles obtained from maslinic acid in different aqueous-organic binary liquid mixtures by using pyrene as a fluorescent probe. We choose two binary liquids mixture such as DMF-water, DMSO-water and also varying the solvent ratio of DMSO-water. The CVC value of DMF-water is 90 µm and for DMSO-water at 2:1 v/v, 1:1 v/v, 1:1.5 v/v and 1:4 v/v are 70 µm, 58 µm, 60 µm and 50 µm respectively.

Urolithiasis is the condition where urinary calculi are formed in the urinary tract. Although the recurrence of urinary calculi formation could not be prevented with modern medicine, the plant species used in folklore medicine could serve as potential sources of novel antiurolithiatic agents. Crataeva religiosa is a plant employed in indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka to dissolve urinary calculi and to treat other urinary disease conditions. Thus, herein, the antiurolithiatic potential of methanolic extract of bark of C. religiosa was studied under in vitro conditions using crystal nucleation, aggregation and dissolution assays. The in vitro assays revealed that the above extract is capable of preventing crystal nucleation and aggregation as well as dissolving the urinary calculi. Its efficacy was comparable with cystone, a marketed polyherbal combination and it indicated that the bark of C. religiosa was a potent and promising antiurolithiatic agent, in accordance with its use in traditional medicine. However, further investigations on its chemical profile and possible cytotoxic effects are required before developing it as a therapeutic agent.