Mitigation of carboplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in BALB/c mice using lagerstroemia speciosa leaf extract

• Main Author: Mariñas, Christelle Elliese Tobias
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Antineoplastic agents; Apoptosis; Chemistry
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_chem/5; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=etdm_chem
• Institution: De La Salle University

Kidney malfunction is a common clinical condition and significant changes in normal kidney function are associated with chemotherapeutic drugs usage. Carboplatin is one of the most reliable antitumor agents against specific cancer types. Unfortunately, cancer patients are at high risk of developing drug-induced nephrotoxicity leading to death. Banaba is a known traditional herbal plant used by indigenous people for the treatment of illnesses. Anecdotal claims on L. speciosa leaf extract as a renal protective agent against Carboplatin toxicity are yet to be scientifically-validated. Carboplatin was administered intraperitoneally (25 mg/kg) and L. speciosa extract (2g/100 ml) pre-treatment and post-treatment were administered orally. The treatments were subjected to different pharmacological activities including genotoxicity, hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. L. speciosa extract reduced frequency of formation of micronucleus in the treated mice using micronucleus test. L. speciosa extract did not exhibit hepatotoxicity and it showed hepatoprotective effect by lowering ALT activity in pre-treatment and post-treatment groups. BAX expression was increased after Carboplatin exposure indicating increased mitochondrial stress. The extract reduced BAX expression in pre-treatment (p=0.001) and post-treatment (p=0.001) groups. The extract did not induce mitochondrial stress. Caspase-12 expression was increased after Carboplatin exposure indicating increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, it did not seem to mitigate Caspase-12 expression indicating the extract did not inhibit ER stress. In a separate study, L. speciosa extract exhibited analgesic activity secondary to Ibuprofen based on hot plate method. Preliminary investigation might support anecdotal claims on Banaba’s nephroprotective effect through suppression of BAX involved the intrinsic apoptosis pathway and attenuation of inflammatory effect. Keywords: Lagerstroemia speciosa, Carboplatin, BAX, Caspase-12, apoptosis