Protective effect of carnosine against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice

Amr A Fouad; Mohamed A Morsy; Wafaey Gomaa

doi:10.1016/j.etap.2007.10.026

Protective effect of carnosine against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008 May;25(3):292-7. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2007.10.026. Epub 2007 Oct 22.

Authors

Amr A Fouad¹, Mohamed A Morsy, Wafaey Gomaa

Affiliation

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt.

PMID: 21783865
DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2007.10.026

Abstract

The nephroprotective effect of the natural antioxidant carnosine was evaluated in mice with cisplatin-induced acute renal damage, in which generation of reactive oxygen species plays a major role. Nephrotoxicity was induced by a single i.p. injection of cisplatin (20mg/kg). Carnosine was administered for six consecutive days in a dose of 10mg/kg/day, i.p., starting 3 days before cisplatin injection. The results revealed that carnosine treatment significantly reduced blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels elevated by cisplatin administration. Also, carnosine significantly attenuated cisplatin-induced increase in malondialdehyde and decrease in reduced glutathione, and catalase and superoxide dismutase activities in renal cortical homogenates. Additionally, histopathological examination and scoring showed that carnosine markedly ameliorated cisplatin-induced renal tubular necrosis. In conclusion, carnosine can be considered a feasible candidate to protect against nephrotoxicity commonly encountered with cisplatin treatment.