Effects of hydro.alcoholic extract of the internal septum of walnut on diabetic nephropathy in rats

Background and Aim: Due to the rapid growth of global interest in use of herbal medicine, their efficacy and safety evaluation have become important. In recent studies, internal septum of walnut fruit suggested as a hypoglycemic agent. Therefore, the present work was conducted to evaluate the effects of ethanolic extract of internal septum of walnut fruit (ISWF) on some biochemical and pathological aspects related to renal function in diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental research 32 acute Alloxan induced diabetic and 8 healthy rats divided into 5 equal group and treated orally once per day for 1 month as fallow diabetic groups I and II received 200 and 400 mg/kg of ISWF extracts, diabetic group III received 50 mg/kg metformin and diabetic group IV and healthy group received saline 0.9% as control groups. Finaly, fasting blood glucose (FBG), 24h urine total protein (UTP), blood nitrogen urea (BUN) and plasma cratinine (Cr) were assessed biochemically and also quantitative and qualitative renal histopathological altrations for 1200 glomerulus were determined patologically. Results: In compare to diabetic control group, the ethanolic extract of ISWF in dose independence manner significantly reduced (p≤0.05) FBG, UTP, BUN and Cr, as well as glomerular space, tuft-to-capsule adhesion and mesangial matrix expansion in diabetic rats. Conclusion: The ethanolic extracts of ISWF have beneficial effects on renal function in diabetic rats