An Introduction to Nephroprotective Plants

Kidneys (2), ureters (2), urinary bladder (1), and urethra (1) constitute the urinary system. Man is exposed to in the form of medicines, industrial and environmental chemicals, and a variety of naturally occurring substances and kidney is adversely affected by these chemicals. An acute injury is the result of this exposure that may lead to renal failure and renal malignancies. In this chapter, kidney functions, urinary system disorders, nephrotoxicity, nephrotoxic chemical substances, diabetic nephropathy, and urolithiasis are given.

Renal issue stay persistent among the exceptional worldwide medical issues. It's a gradually reformist issue which may cause end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Till date, different screening models have been effectively evolved to reenact human infections, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). In this chapter, screening models for evaluating the biological activity of plant extracts in nephroprotection, nephrocuration and antiurolithiasis are given. This is a single point reference to the researchers.

Medicinal plants are important sources of drugs for the treatment of several ailments, including kidney disorders. In this chapter, published work on nephroprotective, nephrocurative and antiurolithiatic plants has been reviewed. Plants are listed species wise and species are arranged in alphabetical sequence. Under each species, the plant part, extract, solvent, method of assay, nephrotoxin and the results of the studies have been given.

In this chapter nephroprotection by polyhedral formulations has been given. These include commercial Cystone of Himalaya Drug Company, Bailva agada, Crashcal, etc. Details of herbal formulations of traditional medicines like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Chinese and Japanese in nephroprotection, nephrocuration and antiurolithiatic activity are also given. These include Triphala Karpa Chooranam and Gokshuradi Polyherbal Ayurvedic Formulation, Amirthathi churnam and Sirupeelai Samoola Kudineer of Sidha medicine, Jawarish zarooni sada of Unani medicine, Takusha and Zhu Ling Tang of Japanese medicine and Wu Ling San of Chinese medicine.

In recent times usage of traditional medicinal plants has received muchneeded attention as sources of bioactive substances and antioxidants, used to treat a wide variety of diseases and disorders of major body organs, including kidney as a nephroprotective. Ethnobotany is how people of particular culture and region make use of the existing traditional knowledge related to plants in their local environments. It is the study of interrelations between humans and herbs/plants; however, the current use of the term implies the study of indigenous or traditional knowledge of plants. The kidney performs crucial functions in the body. It maintains the overall fluid balance in the human body. The kidney regulates and filters the minerals from the blood. It also filters waste materials from food, medications, and toxic substances. Due to the entirety of the indispensable capacities, the kidneys' performance is affected by the poisons they experience. The kidneys are vulnerable to different issues like chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, kidney stones, nephritis, etc., and so on. The present review is an attempt to review the usage of ethnomedicinal plants for nephroprotection by utilizing the different tribal cultures.

This may be useful to researchers who were working in the area nephrology and therapeutics.

Several phytoconstituents are useful in nephroprotection, nephrocuration, and antiurolithiasis. In this chapter, the details of phytoconstituents that have nephroprotective, nephrocurative, and antiurolithaitic properties are given. These include allicin, andrographolide, berberine, betulin, capsaicin, carnosine, carvacrol, catechin, celastrol, cerpegin, chlorogenic acid, chrysin, crocin, curcumin, diosmin, edarabone, ellagic acid, epicatechin, esculentoside A, ferulic acid, flavoxicid, ginsenosides, glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhizic acid, hypericin, kaempferol, kolaviron, lacidipine, licochalcone A, lipoic acid, lupeol, luteolin, lycopene, made cassoside, naringin, naringenin, paeonal, picroliv, proteins, quercetin, resveratrol, rutin, safranol, saponins, silibinin, taraxasterol, thymol, thymoquinone, xanthorrhizol and zingerone.