Study on baicalin on liver and kidney toxicity in male rats

Abstract

Objective: To observe the toxic effects of different doses of baicalin on liver and kidney of rats after different time administration, and provide experimental reference for the safety of clinical medication. Methods: In April 2019, 42 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into a control group (0.9% sodium chloride solution) and baicalin administration groups (100, 200 mg/kg) , 14 rats in each group, and one was given by oral gavage. 7 times/d, 6 times/week, 7 rats in each group were sacrificed 28 and 56 days after the administration. The wet weights of liver and kidney were weighed and the organ coefficients were calculated. The hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to detect the histomorphological changes. And the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , alkaline phosphatase (ALP) , blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CRE) were detected. Results: After 56 days of administration in baicalin 200 mg/kg rats, the body weight and kidney coefficient were lower than those of the control group. Histopathology showed that glomerular atrophy became smaller, renal tubules were significantly atrophied, and epithelial cell necrosis occurred. No obvious abnormalities in liver was observed. After 56 days of administration in baicalin 200 mg/kg rats, the levels of BUN and CRE in the serum were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) . There were no obvious abnormalities in the baicalin 100 mg/kg group and the 28 d of administration in baicalin 200 mg/kg group. Conclusion: Under the conditions of this test, baicalin has certain renal toxicity in male rats.