Toxicological effect of Parthenium hysterophorus on kidney and its amelioration with Prosopis cineraria leaves in wistar rats

The present investigation was conducted to study Parthenium hysterophorus induced toxicity in the kidney and its amelioration with leaves of Prosopis cineraria in Wistar rats. A total of eighty albino rats were used. The toxicity was induced by oral feeding of ethanolic extract of Parthenium at 150, 300 and 450 mg/kg body weight in groups II, III, and IV, respectively, for 28 days. Group V, VI, and VII were fed with ethanolic extract of Parthenium at 150, 300 and 450 mg/kg body weight along with 200 mg/kg body weight of methanolic extract of leaves of Prosopis cineraria. Group I served as a control while group VIII was kept as treatment control and fed only methanolic extract at 200 mg/kg body weight. Parthenium treatment leading to the generation of oxidative stress in rats by increasing LPO level and decreasing activity of GSH and SOD, which were ameliorated by Prosopis extract. Grossly on necropsy,mild to severehemorrhage of the kidney in Parthenium treated groups II, III, and IV were observed and kidney sections showed haemorrhages, cloudy swelling, coagulative necrosis, hylinization of glomeruli, heavy infiltration in the corticomedullary region and degeneration of tubular epithelium. The kidneys of groups V and VIII showed normal architecture details of the kidney, but in group VI showed normal glomeruli with mild pyknotic nucleus in degenerative tubules and in group VII showed dilated tubules in the medullar region with mild degenerative changes of the kidney on the 28^th day, respectively.