Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) injection suppresses kidney injury induced by iron overload in mice.

OBJECTIVES: Excessive iron can accumulate in the kidney and induce tissue damage. Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) injection is a traditional Chinese medicinal preparation used for preventing and treating chronic renal failure. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of treatment with Danshen injection on iron overload-induced kidney damage. METHODS: Mice were mock-treated with saline (control group) or given a single dose of iron dextran without treatment (iron overload group, 50 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks) or with daily treatments of low-dose Danshen (3 g/kg/day), high-dose Danshen (6 g/kg/day) or deferoxamine (100 mg/kg/day). RESULTS: Treatment of iron-overloaded mice with Danshen injection led to significant improvements of body weight and decreased iron levels in the kidney. Danshen injection treatment also reduced concentrations of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and malondialdehyde and enhanced glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities. Histopathological examinations showed that Danshen injection ameliorated pathological changes and reduced iron deposition in kidneys of iron overloaded mice. Furthermore, the treatment was demonstrated to suppress apoptosis in nephrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that Danshen injection exerted significant renal protective effects in iron-overloaded mice, which were closely associated with the decrease of iron deposition and suppression of lipid peroxidation and apoptosis in the kidney