Screening of herbal medicines for the recovery of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

The goal of this study was to quantitatively determine the recovery effects of herbal medicines (HM) on the cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. In the present study, the recovery effects of 239 HM on HEK 293 cells that had been damaged by cisplatin were evaluated by a mitochondrial activity MTS assay. After the first round of screening, candidate HM were selected based on a recovery rate of greater than 20%. The efficacy of the selected herbs was then determined by dose response kinetic analysis. Of the extracts evaluated, 7 HM (Paeonia suffruticosa (PS), Curcuma longa (CL), Centipeda minima (CM), Loranthus parasiticus (LP), Pulsatilla dahurica (PD), Sinapis alba (SA), and Scutellaria barbata (SB)) had a strong recovery effect on cisplatin-induced damage in HEK 293 cells. An LDH assay showed that LP, CM, SB, CL, SA, and PS had the best recovery effect, whereas a comet assay indicated that PS, SB, SA, PD, and CL had the best recovery effect. Taken together, these results suggest that SB, CL, PS, and SA are the best candidate HM for the recovery of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Therefore, additional studies should be conducted to determine if these HM possess novel therapeutic agents that can be used for the prevention or treatment of renal disorders.