Study of the protective role of Spirulina algae against cadmium chloride-induced nephrotoxicity

Abstract

The current study aims to know the protective role of Spirulina platensis algae powder against oxidative stress caused by exposure to cadmium chloride in laboratory white rats Rattus norvegicus. The current study was conducted from May (2023) to April (2024) at the University of Karbala / College of Education for Pure Sciences / Department of biology. In this experiment (18) adult male white rats were used, weighing between (190-230) grams and aged between (11-14) weeks. They were divided systematically into three groups (6 animals per group). The first group (G1) was considered a negative control group, where water and fodder were given freely. The second group (G2) was considered a positive control group, dosed with aqueous solution of cadmium chloride at a dose of 1 g/kg of body weight. The third group (G3) was considered a protective group, where Spirulina algae powder was given, after three hours it was given Cadmium chloride solution. in the end of the experimental period (30 days), the animals were anesthetized with chloroform in the closed method, then the animals were dissected and the kidney was removed and preserved in a 10% formalin solution to study the tissue changes. The results of the current study showed that the kidney tissue in the negative control group consists of an outer region called the cortex and an inner region called the medulla, which is surrounded from the outside by a capsule composed of connective tissue called the renal capsule. The cortex region contains renal corpuscles, proximal convoluted tubules, and distal convoluted tubules, in addition to extensions of medullary or cortical rays. The medulla contains cone-shaped structures called medullary pyramids, whose base is adjacent to the cortex and whose tops protrude into the renal pelvis, As for the kidney tissue in the group treated with cadmium chloride solution, the results of the current study showed that there were tissue changes represented by severe atrophy and destruction of the glomerulus and infiltration of inflammatory cells with the presence of blood congestion and bleeding between the renal tubules with degeneration of the urinary tubule cells While it appeared that the kidney tissue in the preventive group that was dosed with Spirulina algae powder after a period of three hours of the dose of Cadmium chloride solution had improved some of the histological changes, as the normal structure of the glomerulus, the proximal convoluted tubule, and the distal convoluted tubule appeared, with the appearance of Bowman's capsule in its normal form, in addition to a noticeable increase in Bowman's space. We conclude from this that Spirulina algae powder is a preventive substance that increases the body's resistance to toxins, and that this is linked to an increase in the concentration of antioxidants in the blood.