Nephroprotective and antioxidant properties of Artemisia arborescens hydroalcoholic extract against oestroprogestative-induced kidney damages in rats.

Objective: Currently, medicinal plants are found to have biological and pharmacological activities and are used in various domains. This study, carried out on Wistar rats, evaluates the beneficial effects of Artemisia arborscens extract on oestroprogestative-induced damages in kidney.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six 3-month-old Wistar rats were divided into 4 batches of nine each: a control group, a group of rats receiving oestroprogestative treatment, a group undergoing oestroprogestative treatment after receiving Artemisia arborescens extract in drinking water, and a group that received only Artemisia arborescens.

Results: Artemisia arborescens extract was found to optimize many parameters which were shifted to pathological values as a consequence of oestroprogestative toxicity: plasma creatinine and urea levels were decreased, uric acid and proteins were restored to normal values. The alteration of renal architecture was also suppressed. In addition, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities that had been reduced in kidney of the treated group were restored by Aretmisia arborscens-based treatments and, therefore, the lipid peroxidation level was reduced in the renal tissue compared to the control group.

Conclusion: The obtained results confirmed that the Artemisia-based treatment allowed efficient protection against oestroprogestative-induced nephrotoxicity by restoring the activities of kidney. The protective effect of Artemisia arborescens was mainly attributed to antioxidant properties as well as the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids detected by means of HPLC.