Nephroprotective Effect of Ethanolic Extract of Flax Seed

Abstract

Introduction: The treatment of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) remains empirical and hence the quest for an effective agent for this condition still remains a challenge. The nephroprotective effect of flax seeds has been proven in pre-clinical models of kidney injury like lupus nephritis and in model of Type 2 diabetes mellitus where flax seeds meal ameliorated proteinuria. Aim: To evaluate the nephroprotective effect of Ethanolic Extract of flax seed/Linum Usitatissimum (EELU) in Gentamycin induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: The study was initiated after Institutional Animal Ethics Committee approval. A total of 46 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups with eight rats in each group except normal control (n=6) (Group I). The positive control (Group III) received alpha lipoic acid (25 mg/kg/day p.o). The three study groups received EELU in dose 0.7 (Group IV), 1.4 (Group V) and 2.8 (Group VI) mg/kg/day per oral (p.o.) respectively. All groups, except normal control group (Group I), received gentamycin 150 mg/ kg/day intraperitoneal (i.p.) for 10 days. The nephroprotective effect of EELU was assessed using following variables body weight, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Serum creatinine, kidney Malondialdehyde (MDA), and Glutathione (GSH) levels and kidney injury on histopathology. One-way ANOVA was used to analyse parametric data while the non-parametric data was analysed using Kruskal Walis test. Results: EELU in the dose of 2.8 mg/kg/day showed significant improvement in BUN (27.89±6.44 mg/dL), serum creatinine (1.3±0.29 mg/dL), MDA (196.88±17.88 mmol/gm), GSH (1.63±0.12 μgm/gm) and histopathology as compared to Disease control (p>0.05). These findings were statistically similar to positive control group (p0.05). Improvement in BUN and histopathology was statistically similar to positive control group (p0.05). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated the nephroprotective effect of EELU in high dose (2.8 mg/kg/day) in the model of gentamycin-induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats and prevented the acute kidney injury most probably due to its antioxidative potential. Findings of the study suggest that EELU can be used as therapeutic agent in patients who are at risk of kidney injury and further clinical studies should be planned.

Keywords

• α-lipoic acid
• acute kidney injury
• gentamycin
• linum usitatissimum
• serum creatinine