Evaluation of Protective Effects of Usnic Acid in Cisplatin Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats

Cisplatin is an anticancer drug that is used to treat different cancers, but has several side effects such as hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity and neuropathy. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of usnic acid on Cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

In this study, 30 male rats were randomly assigned into 3 equal groups: control group, Cisplatin with 10 mg/kg group and cisplatin with 10 mg/kg + usnic acid with 100mg/kg for 7 days. On the eighth day, all mice were anesthetized and blood samples were taken directly from the heart and kidney tissue was collected for oxidative stress testing.

Cisplatin increased plasma BUN and creatinine compared with the control group. Also, in the cisplatin group, malondialdehyde (MDA) of kidney was increased and the glutathione (GSH) was decreased. Treatment with usnic acid, caused a significant decrease in BUN and creatinine and MDA and a significant increase in GSH compared with the cisplatin group.

Given the improvement in renal functional indicator and the reduction of oxidative stress in the usnic acid group, using of usnic acid has a protective effect against renal damage partly due to oxidative stress caused by Cisplatin.