The Effect of Aqueous Extract of Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) on Kidney in BALB/C Adult Male Mic

Fennel as a medicinal plant has a long history of use in traditional herbal medicine. But there have been few reports of this drug toxicity in different tissues. In this study, the effect of aqueous extract of fennel on the kidneys of adult male BALB/C mice and renal blood factors was investigated.

In this study, 40 adult male BALB/C mice in the range of 20-22 g were used. Mice were divided into 5 groups. Group 1: Control, Group 2: Sham, that received normal saline intraperitoneal (IP) for 14 days. Experimental groups received doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of body weight of the aqueous extract of fennel IP for 14 days. After 14 days of treatment, the mice were anesthetized and after blood sampling from the heart, their kidneys were removed for pathology examination. Histological sections were prepared and stained with H & E and investigated by the optical microscope. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

The mean number of glomeruli, cortex thickness, vascular occlusion, leukocyte infiltration and other histologic indices in the group received 200 mg/kg of an aqueous extract of fennel had a significant difference with control group. However, weight, BUN, creatinine and medulla thickness indices did not have any significant difference with the control group.

The results showed that aqueous extract of fennel at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg had no toxic effects on parenchyma and renal cells, but dose of 200 mg/kg had toxic effects on the kidney.