Abstract
Background: Tacrolimus is a known immunosuppressive drug used widely for organ transplantation, but its nephrotoxicity mechanism is still unclear. Objectives: The present study investigates the protective efficacy of Bacopa monnieri (BM), against tacrolimus-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Materials and Methods: Group 1 (control group); administered orally with normal saline for 30 days; Group 2 (BM extract treated group); Group 3 (tacrolimus-treated group); and Group 4; (tacrolimus plus BM extract treated group). Tacrolimus-treated rats received 1 mg/kg body weight of tacrolimus intraperitoneally for 30 days, and BM-pretreated rats were administered with the dose of 200 mg/kg orally by gavage once a day for 30 days. Results: Tacrolimus-induced nephrotoxicity was assessed biochemically and histopathologically. Pretreatment with BM has shown to possess a significant protective effect against tacrolimus-induced kidney functions regarding urea, creatinine, and albumin levels, respectively. The creatinine, mitochondrial lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), and protein carbonyl levels were significantly increased dramatically, and however, the total proteins, albumin, glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase were decreased when pretreated with tacrolimus. The nephroprotective efficacy of the BM extract was further evident by histopathological analysis and DNA fragmentation. Conclusion: The outcome of this study indicates that BM extracts exerted protection against tacrolimus-induced kidney toxicity.