Protective effect of curcumin on busulfan-induced renal toxicity in male rats

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of curcumin in an experimental model of busulfan-induced renal toxicity with emphasis on importance of histological alterations. METHODS: In this study, we utilized 32 adult male Wistar rats (250 ± 10 g). All the animals were divided into four experimental groups randomly: (I) Control; (II) Busulfan (40 mg/kg); (III) Olive oil; and (IV) Curcumin (80 mg/kg/day). Finally, the rats were euthanized and kidney tissues were taken for histopathology experiments, serum BUN, and creatinine level, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and glutathione disulfide (GSH) activity. RESULTS: Our result showed that the reduction in body weight and kidney weight in busulfan groups in comparison with the control and curcumin groups. The result in this study also showed that the reduction in BUN, creatinine, and ROS production in curcumin groups in comparison with the busulfan group together with an increasing of GSH activity compared to busulfan induced rats. CONCLUSION: Our results of this study indicated that that the reduction in body weight, kidney weight, total volume of kidney, total length of nephron tubules, and numerical density of glomeruli and nephron tubules in busulfan groups in comparison with the control and curcumin groups However, curcumin can be an alternative choice for therapeutically and research purposes in the disturbing kidney after treatment with busulfan.