Effect of treatment of naringenin on early oxidative stress and renal functions in rats with unilateral renal ichemia-reperfusion damage model

Introduction and Objective: Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/R) is a common cause of acute renal failure in emergency and intensive care units, and many factors such as trauma, shock, infarction, sepsis, aortic dissection and urological surgical interventions play a role in its etiology. In our study, we aimed to examine the protective and therapeutic effects of naringenin, a natural flavonoid, in rat kidney tissue in terms of biochemical and histology, in order to prevent structural and functional damage to the kidney tissue after kidney I/R. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 rats were randomized into three groups. Group 1 was called the control group. Renal I/R model was created for the rats in group 2. Accordingly, the left kidney was exposed to ischemia for 45 minutes and reperfusion for 6 hours. Similar procedures were applied to the rats in Group 3. In addition to rats in this group, 50 mg/kg daily dose of naringenin was administered by oral gavage for 1 week. At the end of the experiment, blood and tissue samples were analyzed. While tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured in blood samples, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels were examined. In order to determine the severity of tissue damage, kidney tissue samples were evaluated under direct microscopy. Results: In our study, a dramatic decrease was observed in IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in Group 3 compared to Group 2 (p<0.001). In our tissue biochemical analyzes, it was determined that SOD, GPx activities increased significantly in Group 3 compared to Group 2 (p<0.001). In the kidney tissue, MDA levels were found to be decreased in Group 3 compared to Group 2 (p<0.001). On the other hand, the highest KIM-1 and NGAL levels were observed in Group 2 (p<0.001). In our histopathological analyzes, when the tissue samples were scored according to tubular epithelial flattening, tubular dilatations, nuclear detachment, brush border loss, focal coagulative necrosis, glomerular deformities, local tissue erosions, widespread congestion areas and inflammatory infiltration areas, it was classified into Group 2 in Group 3. It was found that there was an improvement compared to this (p<0.05). Conclusion: In our study, it was concluded that naringenin reduces the harmful effects of renal I/R injury and protects kidney structure and functions. Key words: Naringenin, kidney, ischemia-reperfusion