KIGELIA AFRICANA AND BOSWELLIA SERRATA AMELIORATE DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY IN STREPTOZOTOCINE - INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Abstract

Diabetic nephropathy is a life-threatening complication in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Kigelia africana and Boswellia serrata have been used in treatment of a wide variety of diseases, including diabetes and other inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to study the effect of Boswellia and Kigelia extracts on experimental diabetic nephropathy in rats and their mechanism of action. Eighty adult Sprague-Dawley rats were distributed into four groups 20 animals each. One group was left as a healthy control. Experimental diabetes was induced in the other groups by using streptozotocin for 4 weeks; the 2nd diabetic control group was left without treatment. The 3rd group received Kigelia extract while the 4th one was treated by Boswellia extract. Blood samples and kidney specimen were collected and subjected to biochemical and histopathological analysis. In the treated animals, the results showed significant improvement in blood glucose level, serum albumin, creatinine and urine microalbumin. Parallel histopathological examinations revealed that the used plants extracts ameliorated the pathological changes of the diabeteic nephropathy including the glomerular sclerosis; glomerular area and tuft area compared to untreated group. IL-6 and IL-10 expression were improved in the treated group. These results indicate that both Boswellia and Kigelia extracts minimize the lesions of diabetic nephropathy and could be useful in improving the pathological alterations of parenchymal organs associated with diabetes.