Abstract
Background: Diabetic nephropathy is a severe microvascular complication of type 1 diabetes, often leading to chronic kidney disease. This study aimed to evaluate the renoprotective effects of the ethanolic extract of Desmodium uncinatum (EEDU) on renal dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Methods: Type 1 diabetes was induced in male rats via intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of streptozotocin (STZ) at 60 mg/kg. After 72 hours, only animals with blood glucose levels above 200 mg/dL were selected for the remainder of the experiment. The rats were treated orally for 28 days with the ethanolic extract of Desmodium uncinatum at doses of 91, 182, and 273 mg/kg. The evaluated parameters included body weight, blood glucose, lipid profile, renal function markers (creatinine, albumin, sodium and potassium ions, and glomerular filtration rate), oxidative stress indicators (MDA, SOD, GSH, CAT), pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β), as well as histopathological analysis in kidney tissue.
Results: The extract significantly reduced blood glucose levels (p < 0.001) and improved dyslipidemia observed in diabetic rats. It improved renal biomarkers by significantly reducing urinary creatinine (p<0.01; p<0.001), and urinary protein excretion (p<0.05; p<0.01). Oxidative stress was alleviated through the significant reduction of malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (p<0.05; p<0.01; p<0.001) and the improvement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p<0.05) and catalase (CAT) (p<0.001) activity. Furthermore, renal tissue analysis of diabetic control rats showed mesangial expansion, leukocyte infiltration, tubular clarification, and tubular sclerosis, which were almost absent in treated rats. A marked decrease in TNF-α and IL-1β (p < 0.05; p< 0.001) levels was also observed in treated rats’ serum.
Conclusion: The ethanolic extract of D. uncinatum exhibits both glomerular and tubular protective effects in diabetic nephropathy, likely through its hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Keywords: Desmodium uncinatum; Diabetic Nephropathy; dyslipidemia; inflammation; oxidative stress; rats.
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