Protective effect of dietary flaxseed oil on arsenic-induced nephrotoxicity and oxidative damage in rat kidney

•NaAs intoxication causes marked renal dysfunction.•NaAs causes histological alterations in the kidney.•NaAs causes nephrotoxic and other deleterious effects by increasing ROS generation.•Dietary FXO supplementation ameliorates NaAs induced deleterious effects in the kidney.•FXO counteracts NaAs toxicity by strengthening the antioxidant defense system.

Arsenic, a naturally occurring metalloid, is capable of causing acute renal failure as well as chronic renal insufficiency. Arsenic is known to exert its toxicity through oxidative stress by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Flaxseed, richest plant based dietary source of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and lignans have shown numerous health benefits. Present study investigates the protective effect of flaxseed oil (FXO) on sodium arsenate (NaAs) induced renal damage. Rats prefed with experimental diets (Normal/FXO diet) for 14 days, were administered NaAs (20 mg/kg body weight i.p.) once daily for 4 days while still on the experimental diets. NaAs nephrotoxicity was characterized by increased serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Administration of NaAs led to a significant decline in the specific activities of brush border membrane (BBM) enzymes both in kidney tissue homogenates and in the isolated membrane vesicles. Lipid peroxidation and total sulfhydryl groups were altered upon NaAs treatment, indicating the generation of oxidative stress. NaAs also decreased the activities of metabolic enzymes and antioxidant defence system. Histopathological studies supported the biochemical findings showing extensive damage to the kidney by NaAs. In contrast, dietary supplementation of FXO prior to and alongwith NaAs treatment significantly attenuated the NaAs-induced changes.