Background: Chiranthodendron pentadactylon, known in Mexico as the “tree of the little hands”, flower’s infusion is used to treat kidney failure associated with diseases such as diabetes. The aim of this work is to evaluate the antioxidant effect of the methanolic extract of its flowers on oxidative damage in kidneys caused by streptozotocin in rats. Methods: The extract phytochemical profile was performed with HPLC. Antioxidant potential in vitro was determined with DPPH and total phenolic tests; antioxidant evaluation in vivo was performed in diabetic rats administered daily via the intragastric route (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 6 weeks; serum glucose/creatinine, food/water consumption, and urinary volume were measured. Relative weight, protein/DNA ratios and oxidative stress were measured in renal tissue. Results: The extract showed 20.53% of total phenolic content and IC₅₀ of 18.05 µg/mL in DPPH, and this was associated with ferulic acid, phloretin and α-amyrin. Both doses showed a moderate decrease in the protein/DNA ratio in renal tissue, and the same behavior was observed for total urinary protein loss and serum creatinine, while the best antioxidant effect was exerted by a lower dose, which increased catalase activity and decreased lipid peroxidation in the kidneys. Conclusions: Results demonstrated that C. pentadactylon methanolic flower’s extract improves renal function through antioxidant mechanisms during experimental diabetes.

One of complications of diabetes mellitus is diabetic nephropathy. In Mexico, in traditional medicine, Buddleja cordata Humb. Bonpl. & Kunth, (“tepozán blanco”) is a shrub plant used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, postpartum bath, stomachache, skin burns, diarrhea in children, sores, and cancer. Objectives: We examined the effect of methanol extract of leaves of B. cordata on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and its antioxidant effects in diabetic nephropathy. Methods: We used the streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus model in rats; these were treated with methanol extract from leaves of B. cordata at 50 and 100 mg/kg (orally) for 4 weeks. Kidney weight/total body weight ratio and proteins/DNA, proteinuria and creatinine clearance, Western blot of nuclear factor κΒ (NFkB) p65 (cytoplasm and nucleus), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), and activities of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were determined.

: In traditional Mexican medicine, Solanum melongena is used to treat obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, and hypercholesterolemia. This study examined the effect of treatment with ethanolic extract (EE) from the fruit of S. melongena on kidney damage on metabolic syndrome (MS). Male Wistar rats were maintained for 12 weeks on a diet of 20% fructose in drinking water and chow to develop MS. After administering EE of S. melongena (100 and 200 mg/kg/day, orally) for 6 weeks, the histological study of the kidney cortex and determination by Western blot of the renal expression of angiotensin II AT1 receptor and cytokine transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) were realized. The rats fed with high fructose developed MS and showed kidney damage characterized by proliferative glomerulonephritis and necrosis; this damage was reduced by S. melongena treatment and associated with decreased expression of AT1 receptor for angiotensin II and cytokine TGF-β1, controlling renal damage in this animal model. In rats affected by MS through high fructose feeding, the treatment with EE of S. melongena showed a renoprotective effect through decreased expression of AT1 receptor for angiotensin II and cytokine TGF-β1, causes of glomerulonephritis.