Abstract: Objective Renal ischemia followed by reperfusion leads to acute renal failure, which is a complex pathophysiologic process involving hypoxia and free radical (FR) damage. We investigated the effect of oxymatrine on kidney ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and the antioxidant effects of oxymatrine in rats. Methods SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (I/R group, sham operation group and oxymatrine treatment groups). Rats in the I/R group were subjected to bilateral renal ischemia for 45min and followed by reperfusion. Rats in the oxymatrine treatment groups received oxymatrine intraperitoneally (i.p.) at 3 different doses before I/R for 7 days. In some experiments, rats were killed and kidney function, tissue catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were determined. Results Oxymatrine significantly prevented I/R-induced kidney injury as indicated by decreased serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels compared to I/R group (p <0.05). Reduction of tissue CAT, SOD and GSH-Px activities after I/R were significantly improved by oxymatrine (p <0.05). Treatment with oxymatrine also resulted in significant reduction in tissue MDA that was increased by renal I/R injury (p <0.05). Conclusion Based on our results, it could therefore be concluded that oxymatrine protects the kidneys against I/R injury at least partly via its antioxidant effects.

Key words: Oxymatrine, Kidney, Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury