Protective effects of thymol against nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin with using 99mTc-DMSA in mice

Background: In this study, we investigated the protective effect of thymol as a natural compound against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity by quantitative renal Tc-99m-DMSA uptake and compared its effect with histopathology in mice. Materials and methods: Mice were divided into six groups as control, cisplatin (7.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), thymol + cisplatin (thymol; 50 and 150 mg/kg + cisplatin; 7.5 mg/kg) and thymol (50 and 150 mg/kg). Thymol was orally administrated for two days before cisplatin injection and continued for 4 days. Tc-99m-DMSA was injected through the tail of mice after the drug administration. The percentage of the injected dose per gram of kidney tissue (%ID/g) was calculated. In other experiment, kidneys of treated mice were assessed for histopathology. Results: Tc-99m-DMSA uptake per gram tissue of the kidneys as % ID/g was 85.27 +/- 21.81, 45.55 +/- 5.50, 65.02 +/- 32.21 and 88.46 +/- 20.46 in the control, cisplatin, thymol (50 mg/kg) + cisplatin and thymol (150 mg/kg) + cisplatin. Thymol administration with cisplatin resulted in a significant increase in the level of % ID/g. Histopathological examinations showed a protective effect of thymol against cisplatin nephrotoxicity in mice. Conclusion: The results showed that thymol significantly attenuates the cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice, and Tc-99m-DMSA uptake in kidney is a suitable method for assessment of nephrotoxicity in mice.