Evaluation of Nephroprotective Effects of Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Solanum Nigrum Linn and their Mixture against Gentamicin-induced Nephrotoxicity in Albino Rabbits

The present study aimed to evaluate the nephroprotective effects of different doses of aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare seeds, Solanum nigrum fruit and their mixture on gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity in albino rabbits. For this purpose, a total of 54 adult healthy male albino rabbits were divided into nine groups comprising 6 animals each. Group-I served as normal control group. All other groups (group-II to group-IX) were administered gentamicin intra-peritoneal at dose rate of 80mg/kg body weight. GroupIII was treated with a nephroprotective agent silymarin at dose rate of 200mg/kg/oral. Group-IV, group-V, group-VII and group-VIII were treated with extracts of Foeniculum vulgare and Solanum nigrum at dose rate of 250 and 500 mg/kg/oral respectively, whereas group-VI and group-IX were treated with mixture of both plants at dose rate of 250 and 500mg/kg/oral. Group-II was kept untreated and served as negative control. All the treatments were continued for 21 days. Blood samples were taken from all groups at day 21 and concentration of serum urea, creatinine, albumin, plasma malondialdehyde and catalase were determined. Histopathological parameters of kidneys were also examined at day 21. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan multiple range test. Gentamicin induced oxidative stress and caused structural changes in the kidneys. The aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare seeds, Solanum nigrum fruit and their mixture significantly prevented renal damage by normalizing increased levels of renal markers. Mixture of both plants at high doses exhibited improved nephroprotective and antioxidant activities. The correction of oxidative stress biomarkers was consistent with amelioration of the histopathological changes induced by gentamicin. Hence, it is suggested that ameliorative effect of aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare, Solanum nigrum and their mixture against gentamicin induced kidney damage may be attributed to their antioxidant properties.