Pretreatment with Olive Leaf Extract partially attenuates cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats

Cisplatin is a major anti-neoplastic agent which nephrotoxicity is its main side effect and limits its usage in cancer chemotherapy. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly responsible for cisplatin induced nephropathy, so we determined the effects of oral administration of ethanolic olive leaf extract (OLE) as a plant antioxidant on nephrotoxicity of this drug. 21 adult male wistar rats were divided to 3 groups: “OLE75+CP” group [14 days of oral administration of OLE (75mg/kg) before i.p. injection of 5mg/kg cisplatin], “Water+CP” group [14 days of oral administration of water before i.p. injection of cisplatin] and “Water+Saline” [As previous group with administration of saline instead of cisplatin]. Plasma samples were collected 72h after cisplatin injection and Urine samples were collected for 24h before blood sampling. Plasma creatinine (PCr) and urea, fractional excretion of Na and K, creatinine clearance and relative kidney weights were determined in various groups as kidney function tests. Cisplatin led to significant deterioration of all of this kidney function tests. Oral aministration of OLE significantly reduced PCr and fractional excretion of K. Plasma urea level was lower in “OLE75+CP” than Water+CP” group with a marginally significant level (p=0.08). Other kidney function tests were not significantly different between these 2 groups. Low dose oral administration of an olive leaf extract preparation (especially enriched in oleuropein) for 14 days could partially reduce cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in rats. The effects of higher doses of the extract remains to be investigated.