Immuno-antioxidative reno-modulatory effectiveness of Echinacea purpurea extract against bifenthrin-induced renal poisoning

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the ameliorative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chemical detoxifying activities of Echinacea purpurea ethanolic extract (EEE) against bifenthrin-induced renal injury. Adult male albino rats (160-200 g) were divided into four groups (10 rats each) and orally treated for 30 days as follows: (1) normal control; (2) healthy animals were treated with EEE (465 mg/kg/day) dissolved in water; (3) healthy animals were given bifenthrin (7 mg/kg/day) dissolved in olive oil; (4) animals were orally administered with EEE 1-h prior bifenthrin intoxication. The obtained results revealed that administration of the animals with bifenthrin caused significant elevations of serum values of urea, creatinine, ALAT and ASAT, as well as renal inflammatory (IL-1β, TNF-α & IFN-γ), apoptotic (Caspase-3) and oxidative stress (MDA and NO) markers coupled with a marked drop in the values of renal antioxidant markers (GSH, GPx, and SOD) in compare to those of normal control. Administration of EEE prior to bifenthrin resulted in a considerable amelioration of the mentioned deteriorated parameters near to that of control; moreover, the extract markedly improved the histological architecture of the kidney. In conclusion, Echinacea purpurea ethanolic extract has promising ameliorative, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, renoprotective, and detoxifying efficiencies against bifenthrin-induced renal injury.

Figure 1

HPLC imprint profile of EEE. 19 components were identified, other peaks were not identified.

Figure 2

Effect of EEE on renal DNA fragmentation. Data are presented as mean ± standard error. The symbol (*) is significantly and (ns) is non significantly different from that of the control, while those with the symbol (#) is significantly different from bifenthrin intoxicated group at p ≤ 0.05; EEE is E. purpurea ethanolic extract.

Figure 3

Photomicrographs of kidneys of normal and treated animals’ groups. (i) is the image of the normal control group (group 1); it demonstrates normal renal structures. (ii) is the image of EEE administrated group (group 2); the image shows almost normal kidney structures. In contrast, (iii) and (iv) images are different sections of bifenthrin-intoxicated group (group 3); the image (iii) shows severe renal damage (black arrow) and necrosis (star), while the image (iv) illustrates necrosis (star); Finally, (v) and (vi) are images of the therapeutic group (treated with EEE post-bifenthrin intoxication) (group 4) the images demonstrate clear improvements in the microanatomical structure of glomeruli (red arrow), and in renal capsules (yellow arrow), displaying normal glomeruli and Bowmans spaces. The abbreviations used in the figure include G for glomeruli, PT for proximal tubule, DT for distal tubule, b for Bowman’s space, e for eosinophilic cast, ED for epithelial degeneration, and PK for pyknosis. (Hematoxylin and Eosin, Magnification power =  × 200, Scale bare = 20 μm).

Figure 4

Depiction of the examination of kidney tissue microanatomy in rats treated with various substances. The morphometric analysis showed significant increases in these areas compared to the healthy control group. However, group 4 demonstrated improvements in the glomerular and Bowman’s space areas compared to the bifenthrin-treated group, indicating possible therapeutic effects. The symbol * is significantly different from that of the control, while those with the symbol # is significantly different from bifenthrin intoxicated group at p ≤ 0.05; EEE (E. purpurea ethanolic extract).