Protective effect of Malva sylvestris L. extract in ischemia-reperfusion induced acute kidney and remote liver injury

PLoS One. 2017 Nov 20;12(11):e0188270. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188270. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Mallow (Malva sylvestris L.) has had medicinal and therapeutic uses in addition to its oral consumption. The present study was conducted to examine the protective effect of Malva sylvestris L. extract on ischemia-reperfusion-induced kidney injury and remote organ injuries in the liver. Before ischemia-reperfusion, rats in the different groups received intraperitoneal normal saline or mallow extract at the doses of 200, 400 or 600 mg/kg of body weight. After 30-minutes of bilateral renal ischemia followed by 24-hours of reperfusion, tissue damage in the kidney and liver samples were determined through studying H&E-stained slides under a light microscope. The degree of leukocyte infiltration and tissue mRNA expressions of TNF- and ICAM-1 were then measured to examine the degree of renal inflammation. The renal tissue MDA and FRAP levels were measured for determining the amount of oxidative stress. Plasma concentrations of creatinine, urea, ALT and ALP were also measured. Ischemia-reperfusion led to a significant increase in plasma concentrations of creatinine, urea, ALT and ALP, and renal tissue MDA, and a significant decrease in renal tissue FRAP. The expression of pro-inflammatory factors in the kidney tissue, the level of leukocyte infiltration and the amount of tissue damage in the kidney and liver also increased. Pretreatment by mallow extract led to a significant improvement in all the variables measured. The 200- and 400-mg doses yielded better results in most parameters compared to the 600-mg dose. The findings showed that mallow extract protects the kidney against ischemia-reperfusion and reduces remote organ injury in the liver.

MeSH terms

  • Alanine Transaminase / blood
  • Alanine Transaminase / genetics
  • Alkaline Phosphatase / blood
  • Alkaline Phosphatase / genetics
  • Animals
  • Creatinine / blood
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / genetics
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / metabolism
  • Kidney / drug effects*
  • Kidney / metabolism
  • Kidney / pathology
  • Liver / drug effects*
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Liver / pathology
  • Male
  • Malondialdehyde / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Malondialdehyde / metabolism
  • Malva / chemistry*
  • Neutrophil Infiltration / drug effects
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Protective Agents / isolation & purification
  • Protective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Reperfusion Injury / genetics
  • Reperfusion Injury / metabolism
  • Reperfusion Injury / pathology
  • Reperfusion Injury / prevention & control*
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / genetics
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism
  • Urea / blood

Substances

  • Plant Extracts
  • Protective Agents
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1
  • Malondialdehyde
  • Urea
  • Creatinine
  • Alanine Transaminase
  • mTOR protein, rat
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Alkaline Phosphatase

Grants and funding

This work was funded by grant # 93422, research deputy of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.