Protective Effect of Arjunakwatha and Arjunasheeta in Paracetamol-induced Kidney Injury in Rat Model

Background: Chronic kidney disease is now a global burden with an increased grade of morbidity and mortality due to the unavailability of particular medicines except for high-cost treatments like dialysis or kidney transplantation. Tribal people use their own indigenous preparation of medicinal plants for the prevention and treatment of kidney ailments. The present study was aimed at preparing Arjunakwaatha and Arjunasheeta, an indigenous preparation of the bark of Terminalia arjuna (TA) and its supplementation in the kidney injury rat model. Materials and Methods: In this study, rats were induced to kidney injury (KI) by intraperitoneal injection of paracetamol 15 mg/kg b.w. for 14 days and supplementation of Arjunakwaatha and Arjunasheeta with various doses continued the experimentation for 28 days. Results: Results showed that urea, creatinine, C-reactive protein (CRP), glutamine oxalic transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) in plasma, and malondialdehyde (MDA) in kidney tissue, urinary protein, and KIM-1 were significantly (p<0.05) increased in kidney injury rats when compared to normal control rats. Supplementation of Arjunakwaatha and Arjunasheeta with kidney injury rats significantly (p<0.05) decreased urea, creatinine, CRP, GOT, GPT, MDA, SOD, CAT, and GSH levels as compared to kidney injury rats. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed new low molecular weight urinary protein bands in kidney injury rats. The protective effects of Arjunakwaatha and Arjunasheeta present no band at this molecular level in normal rats. Conclusion: It has been concluded that Arjunakwaatha is the best indigenous preparation for kidney protection.