The incidence of acetaminophen-induced nephropathy is reported to be
increasing, with no available prophylactic or curative regimen. The
present study is an experimental animal study designed to evaluate the
protective effects of graded oral doses of ascorbic acid (ASC) in
acetaminophen (APAP)-induced nephrotoxic rats for 14 days. A total of
thirty, young adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups
(I – V) of six rats in each group. Group I rats were administered
10 ml/kg/day of normal saline via the oral and intraperitoneal routes,
respectively, while group II rats were pretreated with 10 ml/kg of
normal saline one hour before administration of 200 mg/kg/day of
intraperitoneal APAP. Groups III – V rats were administered
single, daily, oral 100 - 500 mg/kg of ASC 1 hour before 200 mg/kg/day
of intraperitoneal APAP for 14 days. On the 15th day, blood samples for
serum urea and creatinine and full blood count were collected via
cardiac puncture under inhaled diethyl ether. The rat kidneys were also
harvested for histopathological examination. Results showed that
repeated, single daily intraperitoneal 200 mg/kg of APAP for 14 days,
reliably induced a significant (p <0.05) increase in the serum urea
and creatinine while causing a significant (p <0.05) decrease in
PCV, TLC and MCHC values along with acute tubular nephritis on
histopathology in group II rats. However, these effects were
significantly (p <0.05) reversed in rats pre-treated with ASC in
dose related fashion. The nephroprotection of ASC could be due to its
inherent antioxidant effect
