The study was funded by a grant from the scientific research foundation of Recep Tayyip Erdogan University .Objective: Nephrotoxicity is the most important side effect of the antineoplastic drug cisplatin, thereby restricting its use. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of white tea infusions (WT) against renal damage induced by cisplatin (CP) in rats by biochemical and histopathological means. Materials and methods: This study used 24 female Sprague Dawley rats at 12–14 weeks of age and weighing 250–300 g. Rats were divided into three groups: Control, CP and CP + WT groups. CP was injected 7 mg/kg i.p as a single dose/rat in the CP group. White tea was given at a dose of 0.5% (w/v) for 4 weeks. At the end of the experiment, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, uric acid, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) along with caspase-3 in the kidney were evaluated in study. Results: BUN, creatinine, TNF-α NF-κB and IL-6 levels of the CP group showed a statisically significant increase in comparison to the control group. TNF-α NF-κB and IL-6 levels showed a statistically significant decrease in the CP + WT group with respect to the CP group. Caspase-3 levels in tubular epithelial cells decreased in CP + WT group compared with CP group (p = 0.02). Conclusion: White tea infusions reduced significantly the nephrotoxicity of CP. The anti-nephrotoxic feature of the infusion may be attributed primarily to its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic characteristics
