Mitochondrial Protective Role of Curcumin in Sodium Valproate-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Male Rats

Abstract

Sodium valproate, a medicine for epilepsy and other neuropsychiatric disorders, damages kidney tissue, especially its mitochondria. Thus, the current research was aimed at evaluating the potential of curcumin against the sodium valproate-induced nephrotoxicity. Animals utilized in this research were categorized into six groups including the first group as control, the second as valproate (500mg/kg), the third, fourth, and fifth groups as rats treated with a combination of valproate and curcumin (25 up to 100 mg/kg), and the sixth group only was administrated with curcumin (100 mg/kg). All the treatments were performed for six consecutive weeks. The results indicated that the function and swelling significantly increased while membrane potential decreased in kidney mitochondria by using 100 mg kg-1 curcumin. Moreover, the protein carbonyl and malondialdehyde significantly decreased in kidney tissue, whereas glutathione slightly increased after curcumin treatment. Taken together, our findings for the first time suggested that curcumin confers mitochondrial protection against sodium valproate-induced nephrotoxicity and can be used to antagonize sodium valproate nephrotoxicity. Keywords: Curcumin; Kidney; Mitochondria; Nephrotoxicity.