Reno-protective effect of berberine.

Objective: To assess the reno-protective effect of berberine on diclofenac-induced acute kidney injury in rats.

Methods: The experimental study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq, from January to March 2018, and comprised Sprague Dawley male rats which were divided into 3 equal groups. Group1 rats were treated with distilled water plus normal saline for 14 days, Group2 rats were treated with distilled water plus diclofenac for 14 days and Group3 rats were treated with berberine plus diclofenac for 14 days. Parameters measured were blood urea, serum creatinine, serum malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin, kidney injury molecules-1, Interleukin-18and cystatin-c. Anthropometric measurements and estimated glomerular filtration rate were also noted. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis.

Results: Of the 30 rats, the three groups had 10(33.3%) each. Berberine reduced blood urea, serum creatinine, malondialdehyde, neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin, kidney injury molecules-1 and Interleukin-18 significantly compared to diclofenac-induced acute kidney injury (p<0.01 each). Berberine improved anti-oxidant capacity through significant elevation of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase sera levels (p<0.01 each).

Conclusions: Berberine was found to be an effective agent in the attenuation of diclofenac-induced acute kidney injury through the modulation of pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers.