Chrysanthemum indicum attenuates cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity both in vivo and in vitro.

Chrysanthemum indicum Linné has been used in traditional medicine to treat various inflammatory diseases in East Asia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of C. indicum ethanol extract (CILE) against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. An HPLC-photodiode array method was used for fingerprint analysis of the CILE and ten major constituents were quantitatively analyzed. The protective effect of CILE on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity was assessed using both in vitro (porcine kidney cell; PK15 cell) and in vivo (Sprague Dawley rat) experiments. In the in vitro study, CILE enhanced PK15 cell viability after cisplatin treatment with recovered antioxidant status. Moreover, the increased p53 expression after cisplatin treatment was decreased in the CILE pretreated cells. In the in vivo study, SD rats were treated for 28 consecutive days with CILE (0, 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg). On day 23, a single dose of cisplatin (5 mg/kg) was injected to induce nephrotoxicity. The CILE pretreated group showed recovered serum renal function index with ameliorated oxidative stress. Histopathological alterations and apoptosis in the kidney were also decreased in CILE pretreated rats. Taken together, CILE could attenuate cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and might be a beneficial agent for acute renal failure management.