Cardio- and nephroprotective effects of fractions isolated from Lycium barbarum (goji berry) in models of cardio- and nephrotoxicity in rats

Figures & data

Figure 1. Algorithm of the in vivo experiment.

Table 1. Effects of individual L. barbarum fractions administered p. o. at a dose of 2 mg/kg (b.w.) on the activities of the enzymes CK, CK-MB, LDH and AST in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.).

Groups	CK (U/L)	CK-MB (U/L)	LDH (U/L)	AST (U/L)
Group 1 – Control	324 ± 14	22.3 ± 1.6	209.63 ± 19.6	89.87 ± 9.87
Group 2 – Pectin-free fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.)	302.5 ± 103.4	23.32 ± 3.2	199.98 ± 22.6	92.42 ± 22.9
Group 3 – Polysaccharide fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.)	334.75 ± 56.5	22.9 ± 4.8	194.43 ± 17.5	81.65 ± 19.7
Group 4 – Combination of both fractions (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.)	318.85 ± 49.9	21.4 ± 1.3	184.32 ± 11.5	79.65 ± 12.8
Group 5 – Pectin-free fraction (2 mg/kg, b. w., p. o.) + DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	457.5 ± 98.4	31.98 ± 5.5	209 ± 11.7	112.5 ± 22.9
Group 6 – Polysaccharide fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) + DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	534.75 ± 56.5	35.87 ± 3.8	222 ± 12.3	204 ± 23.8
Group 7 – Combination of both fractions (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) + DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	418.85 ± 49.9	33.33 ± 4.9	231 ± 18.6	225 ± 17.5
Group 8 – DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	1260 ± 80.1	47.8 ± 7.8	633.11 ± 32.4	687.23 ± 22.35

Creatine kinase, CK; Creatine kinase-MB fraction, CK-MB; Aspartate aminotransferase, AST; lactate dehydrogenase, LHD in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation (mean ± SD).

Figure 2. Changes in biochemical markers for cardiotoxicity upon treatment with pectin-free fraction (group 5), polysaccharide fraction (group 6) and combination of both fractions (group 7) compared to the DOX-model (group 8). Values are presented as mean ± SD. One-way ANOVA was performed for comparison between groups. ** p < 0.01 compared to the model.

Figure 3. Changes in biochemical markers for nephrotoxicity by treatment with pectin-free fraction (group 5), polysaccharide fraction (group 6) and combination of both fractions (group 7) compared to the DOX-model of nephrotoxicity (group 8). Values are presented as mean ± SD. One-way ANOVA was performed for comparison between groups; ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 compared to the model.

Table 2. Effects of the different L. barbarum fractions administered orally at a dose of 2 mg/kg (b.w.) on serum urea, creatinine and urinary levels in DOX-induced nephrotoxicity (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.).

Groups	BUN (mmol/L)	SCr (µmol/L)	UA (µmol/L)
Group 1 – Control	6.3 ± 0.8	37.71 ± 3.6	32.7 ± 2.6
Group 2 – Pectin-free fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.)	6.43 ± 1.1	38.54 ± 6.5	30.56 ± 5.4
Group 3 – Polysaccharide fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.)	6.23 ± 1.3	41.34 ± 4.6	29.9 ± 7.7
Group 4 – Combination of both fractions (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.)	6.21 ± 1.8	44.43 ± 3.6	28.9 ± 5.7
Group 5 – Pectin-free fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) + DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	7.25 ± 0.65	41.98 ± 3.6	31.38 ± 2.7
Group 6 – Polysaccharide fraction (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) + DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	9.45 ± 0.64	55.44 ± 2.87	57.93 ± 3.3
Group 7 – Combination of both fractions (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) + DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	6.78 ± 0.5	43.56 ± 4.87	30.34 ± 2.5
Group 8 – DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.)	11.11 ± 0.8	62.45 ± 5.6	247.41 ± 25.4

Blood urea nitrogen, BUN; creatinine, SCr; uric acid, UA in DOX-induced nephrotoxicity.

Figure 4. Photomicrographs of muscle sections of left ventricular chambers stained with H&E × 400. (a) Control (group 1) - normal myofibrilar architecture. (b) DOX-treated animals (group 8; cumulative dose: 20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.) - disorganization of cardiac muscle fibres (left arrow), cytoplasmic fading and pyknotic nucleus formation (central arrow) and myofibril ruptures (right arrow).

Figure 5. Photomicrographs of muscle sections of left ventricular of rats treated with the individual fractions of L. barbarum - pectin-free fraction (a), polysaccharide fraction (b) and combination of pectin-free extract and polysaccharides (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) (c); H&E × 400.

Figure 6. Photomicrographs of rat kidney bark stained with H&E × 400. (a) Control (group 1) - normal structure of nephrons. (b) DOX-treated animals (group 8; cumulative dose: 20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.) - damaged tubular cells (left arrow) and total collapse of glomeruli (right arrow).

Figure 7. Photomicrographs of rat kidney bark treated with the individual fractions of L. barbarum - pectin-free fraction (a), polysaccharide fraction (b) and combination of pectin-free extract and polysaccharides (2 mg/kg, b.w., p.o.) (c); H&E × 400.

Figure 8. Changes in serum potassium levels in control group, in DOX-model group (group 8), and in animals treated simultaneously with any of the L. barbarum fractions and DOX (20 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.).

Data Availability

All data that support this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.