Curcumin prevents tenofovir/lamivudine/efavirenzinduced nephrotoxicity in rats

Abstract

Background and Aims: Nephrotoxicity is an adverse effect, which may occur with the use of tenofovir/lamivudine/efavirenz(TLE) in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Curcumin (CUM), an isolate of Curcuma longa L.is used in folk medicine for the treatment of ailments. This study attempts to establish whether CUM supplementation canprotect against a rat model of TLE-induced nephrotoxicity.Materials and Methods: Adult male Wistar rats (n=40) were randomly grouped and supplemented orally with CUM (50, 100and 200 mg/kg/day) prior to the oral administration of TLE (300/300/600 mg/kg/day) for 30 days. After the treatment, therats were fasted overnight, weighed and anesthetized. Blood samples were collected, and sera were extracted for biochemical analyses. Kidney samples were excised, weighed and processed for oxidative stress markers and histology.Results: Body weight was decreased (p