Cajanus cajan (L) Mill Sp. Leaf Extract Exacerbates Acute Renal Injury Induced by Acetaminophen in Albino Rats

Background and Objective: Cajanus cajan is traditionally used for the treatment of various ailments due to its antioxidant properties.The present study investigated the effect C. cajan crude aqueous leaf extract (CCLE ) in rats with acetaminophen (APAP)-induced acute renal injury.Materials and Methods: Preliminary acute toxicity testing of the extract was conducted to determine the oral median lethal dose (LD 50 ).Twenty rats were divided into five experimental groups labelled (A-E) of 4 rats per cage.Group A served as the normal control group and was given only water and feed.Rats in groups C, D and E received 100 mg kgG 1 b.wt., of ascorbic acid, 200 and 500 mg kgG 1 of CCLE, respectively once daily for 7 days via oral route using an oral cannula.Thirty min after the daily treatments, 600 mg kgG 1 b.wt., of acetaminophen (APAP) was administered orally to rats in groups B-E.At the end of the treatments, blood samples were collected from the animals via retro-orbital puncture for the estimation of serum urea, creatinine and uric acid levels.The rats were sacrificed under anaesthesia and the kidneys were excised for histopathological analysis.Results: Acute toxicity testing showed that CCLE has an oral LD 50 of 8000 mg kgG 1 b.wt.Serum biochemistry showed a statistically significant increase (p>0.05) in creatinine and uric acid levels in all treatment groups when compared to normal control.Histopathological findings revealed the observable renal injury, with CCLE-treated groups showing more severe histomorphological alterations when compared to the APAP (negative) control.Conclusion: Data obtained suggest that acute toxicity was not observed with C. cajan administration up to 8 g kgG 1 , however, its co-administration with a high dose of acetaminophen does not protect the kidneys but rather aggravates the acute renal injury.