N-acetylcysteine protects against star fruit-induced acute kidney injury

AbstractBackground: Star fruit (SF) is a popular fruit, commonly cultivated in many tropical countries, that contains large amount of oxalate. Acute oxalate nephropathy and direct renal tubular damage through release of free radicals are the main mechanisms involved in SF-induced acute kidney injury(AKI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of N- acetylcysteine(NAC) on SF-induced nephrotoxicity due to its potent antioxidant effect.Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats received SF juice (4 mL/100 g body weight) by gavage after a 12 h fasting and water deprivation. Fasting and water deprivation continued for 6 h thereafter to warrant juice absorption. Thereafter, animals were allocated to three experimental groups: SF (n = 6): received tap water; SF + NAC (n = 6): received NAC (4.8 g/L) in drinking water for 48 h after gavage; and Sham (n = 6): no interventions. After 48 h, inulinclearance studies were performed to determine glomerular filtration rate. In a second series of exper...