Beneficial Effects of Vitamins C and E on Tenofovir-Nevirapine Induced Hepato-Renal Toxicity in Male Albino Rats

Abstract

Background: Tenofovir and nevirapine are associated with kidney and liver toxicity respectively; hence concurrent use might be associated with hepatorenal toxicity.  Therefore, the present study evaluated the  effects of pretreatments with vitamins C and E on tenofovir and nevirapine (TDF-NVP) -induced serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TB), creatinine (Cr), urea (U) and uric acid (UA) in male albino rats. Effects of treatments with vitamins C and E were also evaluated on baseline serum levels of the above parameters. Methods: Forty five adult male albino rats which were divided into nine groups (A-I) of five animals each were used for this study.  Animals in group A (placebo control) and group B (solvent control) were treated orally with water and arachis oil respectively. Animals in groups C-F were treated with vitamin C (20 mg kg -1 ), vitamin E (20 mg kg -1 ), vitamin C+E, and TDF-NVP (90 mg/60 mg kg- 1 ) for 30 days respectively. Animals in groups G-I were pretreated with vitamin C, vitamin E and combined doses of vitamin E and C prior to treatment with TDF-NVP for 30 days respectively. Animals were sacrificed and the serum levels of the above parameters were evaluated. Results: Treatment with combined doses of vitamin E and C significantly (p<0.05) decreased baseline serum levels of all evaluated parameters while TDF-NVP treatment significantly (p<0.05) increased serum levels of all evaluated parameters when compared to the control. However, TDF and NVP -induced increases in serum levels of all evaluated parameters were decreased in animals pretreated with individual doses of vitamins C and E with maximal decreases observed with pretreatment using combined doses of vitamin C and E. Conclusion: The use of these vitamins could be beneficial in the treatment of liver and kidney damage associated with TDF-NVP.