Carnosine protection against cadmium-induced nephrotoxicity in male albino rats: a biochemical and histological study

ABSTRACT

Cadmium in a dose of 3 mg/kg body weight was administered subcutaneously for a total period of 14 weeks in male albino rats. This resulted in a significant decrease in rats' terminal body weights; but renal function tests, including serum levels of urea, creatinine and uric acid, showed a marked significant increase. Furthermore, both blood cadmium and kidney cadmium concentrations showed a significant increase in cadmium-treated animals. Carnosine when supplemented orally in a dose of 0.15 mg/kg body weight concurrently with cadmium administration showed an improvement in both body weight gain and renal biochemical function as well as morphological architecture, but still below the initial control values. In contrast, body weights as well as renal function and morphology were corrected and became near the control values. In contrast, body weights as well as renal function and morphology were corrected and become near the control values on increasing the dose of carnosine to 0.3 mg/kg. Furthermore, the level of cadmium in either blood or kidney tissue of animals received cadmium simultaneously with carnosine was also significantly lower than in those animals received cadmium alone