Nephroprotective potential of eugenol in a rat experimental model of chronic kidney injury; targeting NOX, TGF-β, and Akt signaling

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease is a crucial health problem associated with high morbidity and mortality. Eugenol is a natural phenolic plant compound with various pharmacological activities including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study was designed to evaluate the possible protective effect of different eugenol doses in an experimental model of chronic CCl4-induced renal damage and investigate various mechanisms that underlie this postulated effect. Eugenol treatment (100 mg/kg) ameliorated kidney damage induced by CCl4 and rectified the distorted kidney function parameters and renal histological structure. Additionally, eugenol at a dose of 100 mg/kg suppressed the upregulated oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis in CCl4-treated rats as evident by down regulations of NADPH oxidase (NOX2 and NOX4), proinflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF-α) and proapoptotic markers (cyt c and caspase-3), respectively. Importantly, eugenol co-administration in rats challenged with CCl4 downregulated the renal protein expressions of both TGF-β as well as pAkt compared with CCl4 group. In conclusion, eugenol showed a potent nephroprotective effect against CCl4-induced renal damage through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic activities.