In vivo nephroprotective efficacy of propolis against contrast-induced nephropathy

Abstract

PURPOSE Contrast agents administered in diagnostic imaging or interventional procedures of clinical radiology may cause contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). Preventive measures against CIN involve pharma-ceutical pretreatments, such as N-acetylcystein (NAC) or calpain, but alternative medicines can also be helpful. This study aims to assess the prospects of a natural compound, propolis, as a potential nephroprotector against a specific contrast agent, diatrizoate. METHODSIn vivo experiments were performed on 35 male rats in five groups: control, diatrizoate alone, and pretreatments with propolis, NAC, or calpain one hour before diatrizoate administration. Three days later, blood and renal tissue samples were collected and quantitatively processed for determining induced changes in critical biomarkers malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), glutathione per-oxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), as well as serum creatinine and plasma urea.RESULTSDiatrizoate increased creatinine (113%), urea (400%), and MDA (162%) levels and decreased GSH (-71%), SOD (-69%), GSH-Px (-77%), and CAT (-73%) levels. Evaluating the response of each pretreat-ment provided sufficient evidence that propolis was as effective as either NAC or calpain, but con-sistently more prominent in restoring the MDA, GSH, SOD, and GSH-Px levels close to their normal range. This outcome demonstrated the nephroprotective effect of propolis against CIN.CONCLUSIONPropolis protects renal tissue against toxicity, free radicals, and other adverse effects induced by diatri-zoate. This function is most likely exerted through the antioxidant and antitoxic activities of propolis.