Abstract:
Nephrotoxicity is a major limitation of adriamycin (ADR) chemotherapy. We hypothesized that adminis tration of standardized aqueous bark extract of Gmelina arborea Roxb. (GA) (Family; Verbenaceae), a
traditional therapeutic agent, may reduce the nephrotoxicity caused by ADR in Wistar rats. The dose dependent nephroprotective activity of the standardized GA extract was investigated in ADR-induced
(20 mg/kg, ip) nephrotoxicity in male Wistar rats (n ¼ 6/group). The lyophilized powder of the aqueous
refluxed (4 h) GA extract was administered at 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg doses orally for three consecu tive days. Fosinopril sodium (0.09 mg/kg) was used as the positive control. Assessment of biochemical
parameters on serum, urine and histopathology on H and E stained kidney sections were done at the
end of the intervention. The treatment with GA and fosinopril decreased the elevation of serum cre atinine, blood urea nitrogen, cystatin C, b2-microglobulin and loss of total protein in urine in nephro toxic rats in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). In contrast, serum concentrations of albumin and
total protein were increased significantly (p < 0.05). H and E stained kidney sections showed an attenu ation of renal parenchymal injury following the treatment. The aqueous extract of GA demonstrated
antioxidant potential in vitro. Present findings conclude that the standardized aqueous extract of GA
stem bark exerted a dose-dependent protection against ADR-induced nephrotoxicity in vivo and may
be a promising adjunct in ADR chemotherapy.
