In the present study, single oral 250 and 500 mg/kg/day of the rhizome alcoholic extract of Curcuma amada were studied for their protective effects in gentamicin and acetaminophen induced nephrotoxic Wistar rats for 14 days. In each model of nephrotoxicity, twenty four adult Wistar rats of either sex were evenly divided into 4 groups. Groups I and II served as untreated and model controls, respectively while groups III and IV were the treatment groups which were treated with 250 and 500 mg/kg/day of Curcuma amada alcoholic extract after the intraperitoneal injection of acetaminophen and gentamicin for 14 days. On the 15th day, blood samples for blood urea, uric acid and serum creatinine while the rat kidneys for histology were obtained under inhaled diethyl ether anesthesia. In the gentamicin nephrotoxic rats, 250 and 500 mg/kg/day significantly (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) attenuated elevations in the serum creatinine, blood urea and uric acid levels in dose related fashion, as well as, attenuation of acetaminophen-induced tubulonephrosis. Similar effects were also recorded in the acetaminophen model of acute renal injury. Results suggest that the nephroprotective effect of Curcuma amada could be due to the inherent antioxidant and free-radical-scavenging principle(s) contained in the extract. In the near future, Curcuma amada could constitute a lead to discovery of a novel drug for the treatment of drug-induced nephrotoxicity
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