Evaluation of efficacy of natural astaxanthin and vitamin E in prevention of colistin-induced nephrotoxicity in the rat model

•Colistin is an efficient antibiotic. However, nephrotoxicity is the major adverse effect that impedes its administration in high doses.•Recently, oxidative stress is considered to play a key role in colistin-induced nephrotoxicity.•Moreover, An attention was focused on the role of some antioxidants in offering therapeutic opportunities.•The co-treatment with vit E or ASX plus CMS restored biochemical (GGT, MDA, SOD, CAT, GPx) and histopathological damage.•This nephrotoxicity might be due to oxidant stress. Reno-protection could be due to antioxidant effects of ASX and vit E.

ObjectiveWe evaluated the effect of astaxanthin (ASX) and vitamin E (vit E) on colistin methanesulfonate (CMS) induced-nephrotoxicity in rats.MethodsAnimals were treated with sterile saline, 300 000 or 450 000 IU/kg/day of CMS, CMS + ASX (20 mg/kg), CMS + vit E (100 mg/kg), or CMS + 1 ml/kg olive oil (OO) for 7 days. The plasma/urine creatinine (Cr) level, urine γ-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) level, and renal tissue activities in malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and reductase (GSH), as well as renal histology were performed.ResultsCMS induced a tubular damage, increased the GGT and MDA levels, and decreased the activities of SOD, CAT, GPx and GSH. Co-treatment with ASX or vit E restored all biochemical parameters cited above and improved the histopathological damage.ConclusionNephrotoxicity induced by CMS might be due to oxidative damage. The improvement by ASX or vit E seems to be related to their antioxidant properties.