A study on free radical-induced renal toxicity due to cyclophosphamide and its amelioration with N-acetyl cysteine

A study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) against experimentally-induced renal toxicity due to cyclophosphamide (CYP) in rats. Three groups (2, 3 and 4) of female Wistar Kyoto rats with 6 animals in each group were administered with CYP @ 40 mg/kg bwt on 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th and 7^th day by intraperitoneal route. Group 2 remained as toxic control. Group 3 received NAC from 1^st to 14^th day @ 0.2% of feed and group 4 was treated with NAC from 8^th to 14^th day. Group 1 was maintained on basal diet for 14 days. The study revealed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the concentration of serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls, and a decrease in the reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration of kidney. These results are suggestive of CYP-induced oxidative stress resulting in renal damage. Feeding of NAC could not offer protection against CYPinduced renal damage in this study.