Protective effects of benfotiamine in the experimentally-induced nephrotoxicity with cisplatin in rabbits

Cell death is the component of many response patterns of living tissues to xenobiotics including cytotoxic drugs, and one of the possible ways to ameliorate this response is through interference with the process of apoptosis which can be fulfilled by many candidate substances like benfotiamine. This study was designed to evaluate the possible cytoprotective effect of orally administered benfotiamine against cisplatin -induced nephrotoxicity in rabbits. Twenty adult rabbits are used in this study and allocated into 4 groups; treated as follow: Saline treated as controls, cisplatin [2.5mg/kg] treated group; benfotiamine [70mg/kg] seven days before and during cisplatin treatment and thiamine [70mg/kg] treated rabbits. At the end of treatment all animals are sacrificed, serum and kidney tissue homogenate are prepared for the assay of urea, creatinine, uric acid and thiamine in the serum; malondialdehyde [MDA], glutathione [GSH] and thiamine levels in kidney tissue homogenate. Kidney tissue sections are prepared for histological examination. Benfotiamine treatment resulted in ameliorating the nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin as evidenced by lowering serum urea and creatinine levels, while uric acid was not affected. Concerning the effect on oxidative stress parameters; MDA levels in tissue homogenate were significantly reduced while GSH levels not improved significantly. Histological evidences supported the biochemical parameters which indicate nephroprotective effect of Benfotiamine. The orally administered prodrug elevates thiamine levels in kidney tissue homogenate many fold greater than those produced by conventional thiamine. According to the results obtained in this study one can conclude that benfotiamine has the ability, through a mechanism not related to direct antioxidant property, to provide cytoprotective effects against drug-induced nephrotoxicity; and might be a good candidate to be tried experimentally and clinically in this respect

Hypolipidemic effect of silymarin in dyslipidaemia of different etiologies

Many drug and non drug approaches are utilized for the treatment of dyslipidemia; flavonoids, the major constituents of silymarin, have been proved to positively modify lipoproteins in experimentally - induced dyslipidemia. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of silymarin, when used alone or in combination with other hypolipidemic agents, on the lipid profile in dyslipidemic patients. Fifty seven patients with dyslipidaemia of various etiologies are involved in this clinical trial. They are randomized into three groups treated with either 400mg / day silymarin [gr. A] or 20 mg / day lovastatin [gr. B] or a combination of 200 mg/day silymarin and 10 mg/day lovastatin [gr. C] for 2 months, only 45 patients complete the study. Serum lipid profile [total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, VLDL-C and HDL-C] and liver functions indices [SGOT, SGPT, total bilirubin] were evaluated each month during the follow up period. Treatment with silymarin results in a significant decrease in TC, TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels, with a significant elevation in HDL-C levels, without any significant changes in liver function. Meanwhile, adjunct use of silymarin with lovastatin widens the scope of lovastatin-hypolipidemic effect, without increasing in the score of adverse effects, and ameliorating the hepatic damage emerged due to its use. The results presented in this study indicated that silymarin can be used alone in clinical practice for the treatment of dyslipidemia, and when combined with other hypolipidemic agents like lovastatin, improves therapeutic profile and ameliorate some of its adverse effects