Nephroprotection of Wood Apple (Limonia acidissima), Water Spinach (Ipomoea aquatica), and Moringa (Moringa oleifera) on Gentamicin-Induced Nephrotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Rat Model

TL;DR

This study shows that wood apple, water spinach, and moringa can help protect rat kidneys from damage caused by gentamicin, a drug that causes oxidative stress and kidney toxicity.

Contribution

The novel contribution is demonstrating the nephroprotective effects of three functional foods in a rat model of gentamicin-induced toxicity.

Findings

Wood apple, water spinach, and moringa significantly reduced kidney damage markers in gentamicin-treated rats.

The functional foods also lowered oxidative stress indicators like malondialdehyde levels.

Histopathological analysis confirmed the protective effects observed biochemically.

Abstract

Objective: The present research investigated the pharmacological effectiveness of three functional foods—wood apple (WA), water spinach (WS), and moringa (MO)—against gentamicin (GM)-induced nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress in rat models.

Methodology: The study was conducted on rat model. Twenty-five healthy Long Evan rats of both sexes were equally divided into five groups, which were studied for 7 days. GM at a dose of 80 mg/kg body weight was given daily intraperitoneally to rats of all groups except the normal control (NC). Simply, the NC and negative control (GM) groups received only regular diet. The 3 treatment groups received 20 g/rat/day of mashed WA, fried WS, and roasted MO with regular feed diet at 1:1 ratio. On the last experimental day (8th day), all the rats were sacrificed to collect blood and kidney samples. Nephrotoxicity was assessed by biochemical estimation of serum creatinine (CK) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and oxidative stress was analyzed by determination of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. In addition, histopathology of kidney tissue was also performed for final observation.

Results: By lowering uremic toxin (serum CK and urea) levels, all the three functional foods significantly (p < 0.05) improved kidney function and the GM-induced oxidative stress. However, the difference in the blood SOD level was found to be statistically insignificant (p > 0.05), nevertheless. The histopathological results in those groups corroborated the biochemical results of the food intervention groups.

Conclusion: The present attempt shows that consuming the foods containing antioxidant phytochemicals may be a possible way to combat nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress. Nonetheless, the dosage response of these functional foods and mechanism of action to nephroprotection need to be investigated.

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