Improvement of kidney histological morphology in nephrotoxic paracetamol-induced rats by Cassia alata treatment

Abstract

Widely used as antipyretics to reduce fever and relieve pain, paracetamol has also been consumed excessively as a means to commit suicide and the incidence is alarming. Paracetamol toxicity as a result of overdose may result in hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. This study was aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Cassia alata leaf aqueous extract on protecting and improving kidney morphology of rats exposed to an overdose of paracetamol. 25 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into five groups: (i) negative control group with standard diet; (ii) positive control group induced with paracetamol toxicity at a dose of 3000 mg/kg rat body weight; (iii) paracetamol-induced (3000 mg/kg) followed by Cassia alata (200 mg/kg) treatment for 21 days; (iv) 21 days treatment of Cassia alata (200 g/kg) followed by paracetamol-induced (3000 mg/kg); and (v) 21 days supplementation of Cassia alata extract only. The rats were sacrificed after treatment is completed to harvest the kidney organ for histological examination via hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The kidney of positive control rats induced with overdosage of paracetamol demonstrated damaged glomeruli, dilated tubules and endothelial rupture in a capsule. All groups treated with Cassia alata showed improvement in the histological features of kidney morphology, the size of the glomerulus, and the ratio of normal versus damaged glomerulus compared to paracetamol-induced rats. This study concluded that Cassia alata aqueous extract with a dosage of 200 mg/kg are capable to improve kidney morphology damaged by exposure to paracetamol overdose toxicity.