Rescue effects of ginger extract on dose dependent radiation-induced histological and biochemical changes in the kidneys of male Wistar rats

Radiation is an essential modality in the management of cancer therapy, but its acute and chronic side
effects on the normal organs limit the helpfulness of radiotherapy. The deleterious effects of radiation
begin with oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction to radiolytic hydrolysis and formation of free
radicals. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of dose dependent whole body
radiation exposure on histological and biochemical alterations in rat kidney. It was also planned to find
out whether ginger extract mitigated the deleterious effects of different doses of radiation in rat kidney.
Male Wistar rats were exposed to three doses (2, 4, and 8 Gy) of g- ray with or without a 10 day
pretreatment with ginger extract. After 10 days of whole body g- ray exposure, the results revealed
proliferation of glomerular and tubular cells, fibrosis in glomerular and peritubular and a significant
increase in 8-OHdG, CRP, cystatin C (in 8 Gy), plasma urea and creatinine levels, as well as a significant
decrease in total antioxidant capacity of radiation groups compared to those of the control group. Ginger
extract administration once daily for 10 consecutive days before exposure to 2–4–8 Gy radiotherapy,
which ameliorated histological and biochemical alterations in kidneys of the rats entirely or partially
compared to those in the ethanol group rats. These findings indicate that whole body exposure to
radiation induces kidney damage through oxidative DNA damage and inflammatory reactions, and that
these effects can be alleviated using ginger pretreatment as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent