Acetohydroxamic acid (AHA, Lithostat) - Keeping pee acidic and bacteria-free

• irreversible inhibitor of urease, an enzyme found in bacteria, yeast, and plants that hydrolyzes (breaks down) urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia
• urea is a human waste product found in urine and sweat that has an impressive number of industrial uses
• certain urease-producing pathogenic bacteria, including Helicobacter pylori and Proteus mirabilis, are able to infect the stomach and/or urinary tract by increasing the pH of these environments, which normally are too acidic for them to set up shop
• since ammonia is alkaline, it neutralizes gastric (stomach) acid/urine, facilitating the invasion of stomach/urinary tract mucosa by the bacteria
• can be used to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs), struvite stones (urinary stones associated with UTIs), and gastritis caused by urease-producing bacteria
• also can be used to prevent the encrustation and blockage of urethral catheters in cases of UTIs caused by urease-producing bacteria, as an increase in urine pH can cause the crystallization of calcium and magnesium salts present in urine
  

- Griffith DP, Khonsari F, Skurnick JH, James KE. A randomized trial of acetohydroxamic acid for the treatment and prevention of infection-induced urinary stones in spinal cord injury patients. J Urol. 1988 Aug;140(2):318-24.
- Morris NS, Stickler DJ. The effect of urease inhibitors on the encrustation of urethral catheters. Urol Res. 1998;26(4):275-9.
- Ohta T, Shibata H, Kawamori T, Iimuro M, Sugimura T, Wakabayashi K. Marked reduction of Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis by urease inhibitors, acetohydroxamic acid and flurofamide, in Mongolian gerbils. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2001 Jul 20;285(3):728-33.