Nigella Sativa Can Reverse Statin‐Induced Renal Injury in Rats: An Ultrastructural Study

Abstract

Introduction and HypothesisAtorvastatin (ATO) and its siblings in the statin drug class are widely prescribed as a lipid lowering agent. However, ATO in high doses can induce renal toxicity via oxidative stress. Thymoquinone (TQ), an extractive of Nigella sativa,is a natural antioxidant that has been shown to protect the kidney via its anti‐inflammatory effects. The aim was to study the anti‐inflammatory effect of posttreatment TQ and whether it could reverse the ATO‐induced oxidative injury to the rat kidney.MethodsWe used 4 groups of adult male Sprague Dawley rats (control; TQ‐treated; ATO‐post treated; ATO‐ post treated plus TQ‐treated). Each group was formed of 10 rats. Ultrastructural, and morphometric analyses of the rat kidneys were performed. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS. One‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests (Bonferroni test) were used to compare the means of different groups, expressing data as mean ± standard deviation (SD) and P values of less than 0.01 were expected to be significant.ResultsMorphometric analyses of the ultrastructural examination revealed that the histopathological changes induced by post treatment ATO has improved in the ATO/TQ‐treated group compared to the ATO‐ post treated group.ConclusionPosttreatment TQ appears to reduce and reverse renal injury due to ATO‐induced oxidative stress. TQ can potentially play a role in alleviating side effects in patients with kidney disease who are being treated with high dose of atorvastatin.