The protective effects of glutathione plus silymarin on hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injuries produced in the kidney and lung tissues

Abstract

Here we examine the efficacy of pretreatment with glutathione (GSH) plus silymarin (SM) on kidney and lung injury as a distant organ after hepatic ischemia reperfusion (IR). Rats were randomly separated into five groups: Sham, IR, GSH-IR, SM-IR, and SM plus GSH-IR. The treatment groups took 100 mg/kg of GSH, SM, or a combination of GSH plus SM 60 minutes prior to IR. The groups excluding sham were exposed to 30 minutes of ischemia and 24 hours of reperfusion. The rats were euthanized after 24 hours; blood, kidney, and lung specimens were gathered to perform analyses and pathology studies. As a result, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were significantly elevated in the IR group compared to sham. GSH administration prior to hepatic IR statistically declined IR-induced elevations of creatinine and BUN; likewise, creatinine and BUN were lower by an average of 19.8% and 54% in the SM plus GSH-IR group compared to the IR group, respectively. GSH, SM, and SM plus GSH pretreatments significantly reduced the kidney histopathological damage. Lung histopathologic damage scores on hepatic IR-induced lung injury were higher in the IR group than in the sham group, but lung pathological damage scores in the SM plus GSH-IR group were statistically low according to the IR group. Application of GSH plus SM before liver IR may be a potential therapy to mitigate remote injury of the kidney and lung resulting from hepatic IR.