Ameliorative effect of Nigella sativa conjugated silver nanoparticles against chromium-induced hepatotoxicity and renal toxicity in mice

Hexavalent chromium induces oxidative stress in the liver and kidney. Therefore an in vivo study was designed to investigate the modulatory effect of biosynthesized AgNP against Cr (VI) induced hepatotox-icity and nephrotoxicity. The organs index, serum level of ALT, AST, ALP, MDA, total protein and creatinine were measured. The histopathology and micrometry of the liver and kidney were examined. The liver index was significantly increased (0.098 +/- 0.13 g) with slight increase in kidney index in Cr exposed group. The serum level of ALT (163.0 +/- 5.5 U/L), AST (484.0 +/- 10.7 U/L), ALP (337.6 +/- 9.6 U/L), MDA (641.2 +/- 29.2 U/L), and creatinine (2.9 +/- 0.2 mg/dL) were significantly increased (P <= 0.05) with significant decrease in total protein level (2.9 +/- 0.2 g/dL) (P <= 0.05) in chromium treated group. In histopathology, distorted hepatic cords, necrosis, damaged glomerulus and Bowman's capsule were observed. Micrometric studies of the liver and kidney showed significant increase in size of hepatocytes (1188.2 +/- 467.7 mu 2) and their nuclei (456.4 +/- 206.7 mu 2), ACSA of Bowman's capsule (11835.5 +/- 336.7 mu 2) and glomerulus (9051.8 +/- 249.8 mu 2) in Cr (VI) treated group. The size of brush border (10.1 +/- 3.0 mu) was sig-nificantly reduced in Cr (VI) treated group however the ACSA of lumen was not significantly changed. With the administration of NSSE and Nigella sativa AgNPs, decreased the oxidative damage caused by Cr (V).(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Hexavalent chromium induces oxidative stress in the liver and kidney, and biosynthesized AgNP can modulate this toxicity. The study measured organ index, serum levels of various markers, conducted histopathology and micrometry examinations, and found that chromium exposure led to liver and kidney damage. However, the administration of NSSE and Nigella sativa AgNPs reduced the oxidative damage caused by chromium.