Evaluating the nephroprotective activity of Juglans mollis (Mexican walnut) against ischemia–reperfusion

Mexican researchers evaluated the biological activity of Juglans mollis (Mexican walnut) against renal damage induced by ischemia–reperfusion (I/R). They reported their findings in an article published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• Oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in I/R injury.
• According to studies, J. mollis (JM) has antioxidant properties that can help attenuate the damage caused by I/R.
• The researchers evaluated whether the methanolic extract of JM bark exhibits nephroprotective activity in a rat model of I/R injury.
• They divided the rats into four groups of six, namely, the sham group, the I/R group, the JM group and the JM + I/R group.
• The researchers pretreated two groups with JM (300 mg/kg) for seven?days before inducing I/R by clamping the renal hilums for 45 minutes then reperfusing the kidneys for 15 hours.
• They then took blood samples to evaluate the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin 1B (IL-1B), IL-6 and TNF-a.
• The researchers found that creatinine, ALT, MDA, IL-1B, IL-6 and TNF-a levels were lower in the JM?+?I/R group than in the I/R group, while SOD levels were higher in the JM?+?I/R group than in the sham group.
• They observed no biochemical or histological damage in the JM rats compared with the sham rats.
• Meanwhile, the JM?+?I/R rats had less histological damage than the I/R rats.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that J. mollis has nephroprotective activity against I/R-induced damage. This activity may be attributed to its ability to decrease inflammation cytokine levels and modulate oxidative stress markers (SOD and MDA).

Read the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Perez-Meseguer J, Torres-Gonzalez L, Gutierrez-Gonzalez JA, Alarcon-Galvan G, Zapata-Chavira H, Torres NW-D, Moreno-Pena DP, Munoz-Espinosa LE, Cordero-Perez P. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND NEPHROPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF JUGLANS MOLLIS AGAINST RENAL ISCHEMIA–REPERFUSION DAMAGE IN A WISTAR RAT MODEL. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 26 July 2019;19(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2604-7