Urease Inhibitors

Urease inhibitors are a class of chemical agents that inhibit urease activity in soil and delay urea hydrolysis. Soil urease is a specific hydrolase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea in soil. There are two main aspects to the mechanism of urease inhibitors controlling urea hydrolysis. One is due to the oxidation of SH to reduce urease activity.The second is to compete for ligands to reduce urease activity. Hydroquinone is mainly used in China. At present, several kinds of special fertilizers with slow-release nitrogen fertilizers such as hydroquinone and dicyandiamide have been promoted and applied in a certain area. Urease inhibitors can also be used as feed additives for ruminants, which can effectively reduce the ammonia content in the air in poultry houses and improve the environment and the efficiency of nitrogen utilization on animals.

Urease is an enzyme that hydrolyzes urea in the soil. When urea is applied to the soil, urease hydrolyzes it to ammonium nitrogen and be absorbed by the crop. Urease inhibitors can inhibit the hydrolysis rate of urea and reduce the volatilization and the nitrification of ammonium nitrogen.

Urease Inhibitors mechanism of action

Urease inhibitors block the active site of soil urease on urea hydrolysis and reduce urease activity.

The urease inhibitor itself is also a reducing agent, which can change the redox conditions of the micro-ecological environment in the soil and reduce the activity of soil urea.

As a urease inhibitor, the hydrophobic substance can reduce the water solubility of urea and slow down the hydrolysis rate of urea.

The antimetabolite-like urease inhibitor disrupts the metabolic pathway of the urease-producing microorganism and hinders the pathway for synthesizing urease, and reduces the density of urease distribution in the soil, thereby reducing the decomposition rate of urea.

Urease inhibitors are themselves compounds that are similar in physical properties to urea. Urease inhibitors have synchronous movement with urea molecules in the soil to protect the urea molecules and protect the urea molecules from urease-catalyzed decomposition. Applying a certain amount of urease inhibitor while using urea can limit the activity of urease . The decomposition of urea become slowed down, thereby reducing the inefficient degradation of urea.