Aqueous garlic extract supresses experimental gentamicin inducedrenal pathophysiology mediated by oxidative stress, inflammationand Kim-1

tBackground: Gentamicin (Gent) has rapid & high bactericidal action in addition to its cheap price. Never-theless, 30% of gentamicin-treated patients develop nephrotoxicity.Objective: To explore the probable nephroprotective effects of the aqueous garlic extract (AGE) & toelucidate its underlying mechanisms via monitoring proinflammatory cytokines as tumer necrosis factor(TNF-), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interferon- (INF-), oxidative stess markers as malondialdehyde (MDA)& superoxide dismutase (SOD) & kidney injury molecule (Kim-1) as a promising early specific biomarkerof renal dysfunction.Methods: 32 adult male rats were divided into 4 equal groups treated for 21 days as: normal control groupreceived normal saline orally, AGE-treated group received AGE at 250 mg/kg/day orally, Gent-treatedgroup received Gent-sulphate intraperitoneal injection at 80 mg/kg /day, and AGE & Gent cotreated groupreceived AGE and Gent concomitantly in the same previous doses. Serum urea, creatinine, glomerularfilteration rate (GFR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), TNF-, IL-6, INF-, MDA and SODand Kim-1 mRNA expression were evaluated in kidney tissue homogenate. Renal cortex sections stainedwith Haematoxylin & eosin (H&E) were examined.Results: AGE is nephroprotective through significantly reducing serum urea, creatinine, SBP and DBP, TNF-, IL-6, INF- and MDA (the main product of lipid peroxidation), decreasing expression of Kim-1 mRNAin renal tissue and increasing level of GFR, the natural antioxidant SOD and improving renal histologicalfeatures of Gent-treated rats.Conclusion: AGE normalizes Gent-induced renal dysfunction. Their co-administration is a plausible advice,although the therapeutic efficiency of Gent was not investigated