The Effect of Ilex × meserveae S. Y. Hu Extract and Its Fractions on Renal Morphology in Rats Fed with Normal and High-Cholesterol Diet

Therapeutic properties of Ilex species are widely used in natural medicine. Ilex × meserveae may become a potential substitute for Ilex paraguariensis (Yerba Mate). As a part of the preliminary safety verification of this European Ilex hybrid vs. Yerba Mate, an eight-week study concerning the impact of regular administration of leaves of both species on kidneys was conducted. The standard water infusion and three dominant fractions of Ilex × meserveae leaves’ constituents (polyphenols, saponins and less polar terpenoids) were separately tried on 96 male Wistar rats divided into 8-member groups. Animals were divided into two basic nutritional groups: the first one was rats fed standard feed and the second on was rats fed with high-cholesterol diet (20 g of cholesterol per kg of standard feed). Postmortem morphometric evaluation of stained kidney samples concerned the filtration barrier elements, which are crucial in proper diuresis. The results showed that saponins present in the hydroalcoholic dry extract (administered in a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight/day) as well as in water infusions (1:20) from Ilex × meserveae and Ilex paraguariensis do not demonstrate nephrotoxicity but conversely, have a protective role on kidney status in animals fed with a normal diet and in a high-cholesterol diet.