Protective role of turmeric on histological, ultrastructural and sero- biochemical changes in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in female rats

Aim: Protective role of turmeric was assessed against cisplatin-induced histological and ultra-structural changes in kidney. Materials and Methods: A total of 48 rats were divided into 4 groups of 12 rats in each. Group 1 was kept as sham control, group 2 was treated with cisplatin (@ 2 mg/kg b.wt, intraperitoneally on day 1, 7, 14 and 21), group 3 with turmeric (@ 0.05 mg/kg b.wt. p.o. once daily for 28 days) and group 4 with cisplatin + turmeric (as per above schedule). Blood was collected at fortnight intervals and serum was separated for estimation of kidney biomarkers. Six rats in each group were then euthanized on day 14 and 28 for histopathology, and tissue parameters were assayed on day 28. Results: Thibarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS), protein carbonyls, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were significantly (P < 0.05) increased, while GSH was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in group 2 as compared to other groups. Histological sections of kidney from group 2 rats showed marked inter-tubular haemorrhages, congestion, marked dilation of tubules, and other lesions of pathological significance. Ultrastructural changes of pathological significance were also recorded in group 2. Kidney sections of group 4 showed nucleus with uniform size with well differentiated nuclear membrane and nucleolus, and prominent inter tubular and inter cellular junctions. Conclusion: The study revealed that cisplatin induces nephrotoxicity due to oxidative stress and turmeric was found beneficial in countering the adverse effects.