Protective Effect of Oral Administration of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Eryngium caucasicum Trautv. against Acetaminophen-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Mice

Acetaminophen is a common analgesic and antipyretic medication that cause poisoning and damage liver and kidney in case of overdose. In this study, we investigated the effects of alcoholic extract of Eryngium caucasicum Trautv. against acetaminophen-induced oxidative stress in plasma and kidney tissue in BALB/C mice.

The animals were randomly divided into 8 groups: control (saline), acetaminophen (400 mg/kg body weight) and different doses of extract (200, 400, and 600 mg/kg body weight)+ acetaminophen, and the extract at 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg body weight without acetaminophen administered by gavage for a week. Twenty four hours after last treatment, plasma levels of urea, creatinine, plasma antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, and tissue glutathione were measured. The effects of extract in experimental groups and the control group were compared using SPSS software.

Alcoholic extract of Eryngium caucasicum Trautv. in acetaminophen-treated mice significantly decreased plasma urea, creatinine and lipid peroxidation (MDA) levels in kidney tissue and increased antioxidant capacity of plasma and tissue glutathione (P<0.001).

The study showed protective effects of the alcoholic extract of Eryngium caucasicum Trautv. against acetaminophen-induced renal toxicity which could be associated with antioxidant properties and scavenging of free radicals of the extract.