Protective Effects of Cleome gynandra Leaf Extract against Acute Mercuric Chloride – Mediated Kidney Damage in Male Wistar Albino Rats

Mercury can cause toxic effects in animals and impair some organs’ function, the kidney included. A promising approach of protecting tissue damage due to mercury is the use of phytochemicals. In this study, the effect of Cleome gynandra (CG) leaf extract against mercuric chloride (HgCl2) - induced nephrotoxicity was determined. Four groups of Wistar rats were used: vehicle control, positive control (5mg HgCl2/kg bwt), treatment groups I (250mg CG extract/kg bwt + 5mg HgCl2/kg bwt), and II (500mg CG extract/kg bwt + 5mg HgCl2/kg bwt). The variations among the groups were significant for creatinine (p=0.0002), urea (p=0.0002), and albumin (p=0.0082) levels.HgCl2 significantly increased urea (p = 0.021) and creatinine (p = 0.032) levels in the positive control group compared to the vehicle control group. The CG extract did not prevent these changes. The difference between the treatment groups was insignificant for creatinine (p=0.972) and urea (p=0.341). Histologically, the vehicle control group showed normal renal morphology, while the rest showed degenerative changes on the Bowman’s capsule, glomeruli, and tubules. Albumin level was significantly lower in the treatment group 2 (p=0.005). Pre-treatment with CG extract was ineffective in nephroprotection against damage induced by the high dose of mercury.