Dietary supplementation of flaxseed oil ameliorates the effect of cisplatin on rat kidney

Cisplatin (CP) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent widely used in the treatment of many malignant tumours. However, its therapeutic utility is limited by dose dependent nephrotoxicity. Several agents/strategies have attempted to prevent CP nephrotoxicity but were not found suitable for clinical practice. Dietary flaxseed oil (FXO), a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to prevent/reduce the progression of certain types of cardiovascular and renal disorders. The protective effect of FXO on CP induced nephrotoxic and other deleterious effects was investigated. Rats were prefed experimental diets for 10 days and then received a single dose of CP (6 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally while still on diet. Serum/urine parameters, enzymes of brush border membrane (BBM), oxidative stress and carbohydrate metabolism in rat kidney were analyzed. CP nephrotoxicity was recorded by increased serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. CP decreased the activities of metabolic enzymes, antioxidant defense system and BBM enzymes. In contrast, FXO alone increased enzyme activities of carbohydrate metabolism and brush border membrane. FXO feeding to CP treated rats markedly enhanced resistance to CP-elicited deleterious effects. Dietary FXO supplementation ameliorated CP induced specific metabolic alterations and oxidative damage due to its intrinsic biochemical antioxidant properties.