Protective effects of Artemisia campestris upon fenthion-induced nephrotoxicity in adult rats and their progeny

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the possible protective effects of Artemisia campestris against fenthion-induced nephrotoxicity in adult rats and their progeny. Fenthion was administered orally at a dose of 551 ppm, which represented 1/4 of LD50, for 21 consecutive days to pregnant and lactating rats. Oxidative stress was monitored in the kidney by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA), GSH levels, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase activities (GPx). Fenthion caused a significant induction of oxidative damage in kidney as evidenced by increased MDA levels from 5.32 ± 0.47 nmol/100 mg tissue to 11.72 ± 0.83 nmol/100 mg tissue for pups and from 5.18 ± 0.45 nmol/100 mg tissue to 10.84 ± 1.67 nmol/100 mg tissue for dams (p < 0.001). A significant increase (p < 0.001) in the activities of SOD, CAT and GPx was observed. Co-administration of Artemisia c. at a dose of 5% (w/w) in the diet of fenthion-treated rats showed a significant reno-protection against fenthion-induced cytotoxic effects. It could be concluded that Artemisia c. is promising as a protective agent against nephrotoxicity during the exposure to fenthion.