Nephroprotective activity of Macrothelypteris oligophlebia rhizomes ethanol extract.

Context: Macrothelypteris oligophlebia (Bak.) Ching (Thelypteridaceae) is a Chinese herbal medicine used traditionally for the treatment of diseases such as edema, boils, burns, and roundworms. However, research about the nephroprotective potential of this plant is not available. Objective: Present study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of ethanol extract of M. oligophlebia rhizomes (EMO) on gentamicin (GM)-induced nephrotoxicity. Materials and methods: Rats were intraperitoneal (i.p.) injected with GM (100 mg/kg) to induce nephrotoxicity and simultaneously EMO (250 and 500 mg/kg) was orally given to GM-treated rats for 8 days. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Cr), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were evaluated in renal tissues. Histopathological analysis was used for evaluation of the renal damage. Results: Administration with GM-induced renal dysfunction in rats. Pre-treatment with EMO (500 mg/kg) significantly decreased the levels of BUN, Cr, MDA and NO (decreased BUN from 12.71 +/- 1.28 to 7.19 +/- 0.23 mmol/l, Cr from 39.77 +/- 5.34 to 19.17 +/- 0.90 mu mol/l, MDA from 5.60 +/- 0.37 to 2.63 +/- 0.24 nmol/ml, and NO from 868.17 +/- 22.67 to 589.51 +/- 8.83 mu mol/ml), and also restored the activities of renal antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px) (restored SOD from 1.59 +/- 0.17 to 2.94 +/- 0.13 U/mg protein, CAT from 3.22 +/- 0.34 to 10.57 +/- 0.27 U/mg protein, and GSH-Px from 9.11 +/- 1.29 to 20.72 +/- 1.83 U/mg protein). Discussion and conclusion: Our results suggest that the rhizomes of M. oligophlebia potentially have a protective role in renal tissue against oxidative stress in acute renal failure.