Yousif A. Elhassaneen^1,, Wafaa A. Refat¹, Hend E. Ragab¹

This paper measured the therapeutic effect of Gum Arabic (GA) on nephritis caused by arginine in rats regarding renal and hepatic performance, oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid profile, glucose homeostasis, as well as antioxidant defense. A group of thirty-five male rats (140–150 g) was categorized into normal control group and nephritic group induced with 2% arginine for 28 days. Nephritic rats were also divided into an untreated category and three categories fed on GA at 4%, 6%, and 8% of the diet. Nephritis induced by arginine decreased body weight gain (−29.26%), feed intake (−22.40%), and feed efficiency ratio (−21.47%). Dose-dependently, GA supplementation improved these parameters, with the 8% dose showing the highest recovery. Renal dysfunction was evidenced by increased serum creatinine (+63.57%), urea nitrogen (+115.48%), and uric acid (+59.03%), which were significantly reduced by GA, particularly at 8% inclusion. Liver enzymes (AST, ALT, and ALP) were significantly elevated in nephritic rats and were reduced following GA administration. Lipid metabolism was disturbed, as indicated by increased triglycerides (+44.05%), total cholesterol (+20.40%), and LDL-c (+29.96%), along with decreased HDL-c (−43.68%); GA supplementation favorably modulated these parameters. Inflammatory markers TNF-α (+83.90%), CRP (+230.34%), and nitric oxide (+97.78%) were markedly elevated and significantly decreased by GA. Oxidative stress was confirmed by increased renal protein carbonyls (+73.08%) and MDA (+30.00%), along with decreased antioxidant enzymes GPx (−38.45%), SOD (−43.42%), and CAT (−35.57%); these alterations were ameliorated by GA. Hyperglycemia (+78.23%) and reduced insulin levels (−42.49%) were also improved. Histopathological examination showed normal renal architecture in the control group, whereas untreated nephritic rats exhibited inflammatory cell infiltration and tubular epithelial degeneration; in contrast, GA-treated groups (4%, 6%, and 8%) showed no detectable histopathological lesions and preserved normal renal structure. Generally, GA demonstrated marked renoprotective, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and metabolic regulatory effects, particularly at the dietary concentration of 8%.

Liver function, blood glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, protein carbonyl, antioxidant enzymes, histology