Therapeutic Applications of Microbial Enzymes in the Management of Kidney Stone Diseases

Nephrolithiasis is a terrible pathological condition marked by the presence and formation of kidney stones. It affects around 3–20% of the community in the world. Several environmental, physiological, and nutritional conditions influence this disease. Not only the food sources but also the body’s own metabolism add up oxalate content in the human body. The increased intake of oxalate leads to hyperoxaluria, which often results in the formation of calcium oxalate stones, commonly known as kidney stones. The incidences of kidney stone are very common, and the current therapeutic measure of its cure is not much effective. Therefore, new therapeutic approaches are needed. In the last few years, the use of gut microbiome with oxalate-degrading activity has emerged as an excellent therapeutic approach to treat kidney stones. As the genes responsible for oxalate-degrading enzymes are not found in humans use of bacterial enzymes with the ability to degrade oxalate in intestinal digestion has a significant therapeutic impact. This chapter summarizes the roles of microbial enzymes produced by gut microflora involved in the solubilization of the dietary oxalates, and their potential applications in kidney stone diseases.