Nephrotoxicity

The excess use of drugs for various ailments is resulting in increasing cases of drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Acute kidney injury is the most common type of drug-induced nephrotoxicity, which accounts for 85% of cases of nephrotoxicity. Herbal medications, due to the presence of various phytoconstituents, possess nephroprotective activity and are used in the treatment of kidney disorders like acute kidney injury, nephrotic syndrome, chronic interstitial nephritis, etc. The present review aimed to elucidate the list of medicinal plants which are scientifically proven to have nephroprotective activity against drug-induced nephrotoxicity. 

To appraise the nephroprotective and antioxidant activity of hydroalcoholicCissampelospareira (C.pareira) whole plant extract using cisplatin induced nephrotoxic rats. C.pareirais a well know medicinal plant of Menispermaceae family which is widely used for ayurvedic medicine to treat various kidney complications. In the present study C.pareirawas observedfor its acute toxicity studies by using OECD guidelines no.425. The nephroprotective activity was evaluated by using cisplatin induced nephrotoxic rats. In-vivo antioxidant activity was evaluated by using glutathione and lipid peroxidation estimation in cisplatin induced rats. One way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test using Graph pad prism software. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. From the acute toxicity study two doses were selected as 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o. body weight for the present study. C.pareira extract significantly increases the body weights, decrease the elevated urinary glucose levels in the urine, decrease the urea and creatinine levels in blood and increase the urinary creatinine levels in cisplatin induced nephrotoxic rats. In the in-vivo antioxidant study there was a dose dependent decreasing and increasing of lipid peroxidation, glutathione levels in hydroalcoholic extract treated groups respectively. The histopathological investigation was also supported nephroprotective activity of C.pareira. All the results were shown that the plants C.pareirahydroalcoholic extract has significant nephroprotective activity.