Therapeutic effect of Diceratella elliptica on hyperthyroid-induced renal and pancreatic damage

Hyperthyroidism induces systemic metabolic disturbances that can impair renal and pancreatic function through oxidative stress, and consequent inflammation. Natural medicinal plants rich in phenolic compounds have gained attention as potential therapeutic agents. The present study investigated the protective impacts of Diceratella elliptica (D. elliptica) against L-thyroxine-induced renal and pancreatic damage in rats.

Forty male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 5 groups: control, L-thyroxine-induced hyperthyroidism (600 µg/kg orally for 12 days), hyperthyroidism treated with propylthiouracil (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally for 15 days), and hyperthyroid rats treated with D. elliptica extract (200 or 400 mg/kg orally for 15 days). Thyroid hormones, renal biomarkers (urea and creatinine), enzymes like total amylase and pancreatic lipase, oxidative stress parameters (MDA, GSH, SOD), inflammatory mediators (TNF-α and IL-6), and apoptotic marker (caspase-3) were assessed. Histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations of renal and pancreatic tissues were also performed.

L-thyroxine administration induced thyroid hormone imbalance accompanied by renal dysfunction, pancreatic enzyme disturbances, oxidative stress, inflammatory activation, and enhanced apoptotic signaling. Treatment with D. elliptica, particularly at 400 mg/kg, markedly improved biochemical parameters, restored antioxidant defenses, reduced inflammatory mediators and caspase-3 expression, and ameliorated renal and pancreatic histological alterations.

D. elliptica exerts significant protective effects against hyperthyroidism-associated renal and pancreatic injury through modulation of oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis, suggesting its potential as a natural therapeutic agent for mitigating systemic complications of hyperthyroidism.