PHARMACOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE NEPHROPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF A POLYHERBAL FORMULATION OF MURRAYA PANICULATA LEAF EXTRACT AND ALBIZIA LEBBECK SEED EXTRACT (COMPARATIVE STUDY)

The present study was conducted to evaluate the phytochemical, antioxidant, formulation, and nephroprotective potential of Murraya paniculata leaves and Albizia lebbeck seeds against paracetamol-induced nephrotoxicity. Ethanolic extraction yielded 11.24% and 7.34% extract, respectively. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of several bioactive constituents. Murraya paniculata showed higher total phenolic content (52.65 mg/g GAE) and total flavonoid content (44.31 mg/g RE) than Albizia lebbeck (31.15 mg/g GAE and 38.06 mg/g RE, respectively). DPPH assay demonstrated concentration-dependent antioxidant activity, with IC₅₀ values of 26.52 and 37.14 µg/mL, respectively. Three suspension formulations were prepared, and the polyherbal formulation (F3) showed satisfactory physicochemical properties, including pH 6.3 ± 0.04, viscosity 1920 ± 18 cP, sedimentation volume 0.82 ± 0.02, and spreadability of 11.8 ± 0.6 g·cm/sec. The nephroprotective activity was evaluated in a paracetamol-induced nephrotoxicity model. Paracetamol administration increased serum uric acid, creatinine, and BUN levels to 2.05 ± 0.13 mg/dL, 1.41 ± 0.17 mg/dL, and 33.6 ± 4.30 mg/dL, respectively, compared with the normal control. Treatment with the polyherbal suspension reduced these parameters to 1.32 ± 0.06 mg/dL, 0.94 ± 0.03 mg/dL, and 25.9 ± 1.25 mg/dL, respectively, demonstrating greater protective activity than the individual formulations. Histopathological examination further showed near-normal renal architecture with minimal degenerative changes in the polyherbal-treated group. Overall, the findings indicated that the 1:1 polyherbal suspension possessed enhanced antioxidant and nephroprotective potential against paracetamol-induced renal injury.