Amelioration of nitrobenzene-induced nephrotoxicity by the ethanol extract of the herb Euphorbia hirta.
BACKGROUND
Euphorbia hirta (L.) (Euphorbiaceae) is a very popular herb amongst practitioners of traditional medicine and used in the treatment of female disorders, respiratory ailments, tumors, jaundice, digestive problems, wounds, etc. We aimed to evaluate the protective effect of E. hirta against nitrobenzene-induced nephrotoxicity in albino rats.


METHODS
The nephroprotective activity of the ethanol extract of E. hirta (400 mg/kg body weight) was studied in nitrobenzene-induced albino rats (1000 mg/kg body weight). The activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), total thiols and vitamin C in the kidney tissues were determined. Histopathologic investigation was performed in the kidney tissue samples.


RESULTS
Nitrobenzene administration significantly (P < 0.01) enhanced the lipid peroxidation and significantly (P < 0.05) depleted the levels of SOD, CAT, GPx, GST, GSH, total thiols and vitamin C. Treatment with the ethanol extract of E. hirta significantly normalized the antioxidant levels. The nephroprotective activity was also supported by histopathologic studies of kidney tissue.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that the ethanol extract of E. hirta ameliorates renal dysfunction and could be used as an effective protector against nitrobenzene-induced nephrotoxicity, primarily through its antioxidant capacity.
Department of Biochemistry, Karpagam Arts and Science College, Coimbatore - 641 021, Tamil Nadu, India.
Subramanian
S
Suganya
Dominic
D
Sophia
Chinthamony Arul
CA
Raj
Muthaiyan Ahalliya
MA
Rathi
Lakshmanan
L
Thirumoorthi
Periyasamy
P
Meenakshi
Dugganaboyana Guru
DG
Kumar
Velliyur Kanniyapan
VK
Gopalakrishnan