Immunomodulatory Effects of the Nutraceutical Garlic Derivative Allicin in the Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy

Abstract

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is presently the primary cause of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). It has been suggested that inflammation and oxidative stress, in addition to or in concert with the metabolic changes, plays an important role in the maintenance and progression of the disease. Therefore, attenuating or blocking these mechanisms may be a therapeutic target to delay the progression of the disease. Diallyl thiosulfinate (allicin), a compound derived from garlic, inhibits free radical formation, increases glutathione synthesis and decreases the levels of proinflammatory molecules in vitro. This research aimed to assess the effect of allicin on oxidative stress and inflammation-induced diabetes. Animals were divided into control and diabetes (streptozotocin 50 mg/kg i.p.), and maintained for 30 days. After 30 days, the group of diabetic animals was subdivided into diabetes and allicin-treated diabetes (16 mg/kg/day oral gavage). The three experimental groups were maintained for another month. We analyzed the status of renal function, oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines. The untreated diabetic group showed hyperglycemia and increased diuresis, creatinine clearance, proteinuria, glycosuria and urinary excretion of N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG), as well as increased oxidative stress and the expression of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, nuclear factor kappa beta (NFκβ) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in plasma and kidney. In contrast, the inhibitor of NFκβ (Iκβ) is decreased in the cortex. It has been demonstrated that the allicin treatment decreases hyperglycemia, polyuria, and NAG excretion. The oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines were also reduced by the allicin treatment. In conclusion, allicin delays the progression of diabetic nephropathy through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Allicin Associated with Fibrosis in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

“…Thus, we assessed the effects of allicin on fibrosis. A recent study reported that allicin decreased the TGF-β expression in the serum and renal cortex of rats with diabetic nephropathy [51]. In this work, we showed that allicin prevented increases in the expressions of TGF-β and α-SMA.…”

Co-Application of Allicin and Chitosan Increases Resistance of Rosa roxburghii against Powdery Mildew and Enhances Its Yield and Quality

“…Since then, allicin has been widely used in agricultural plant protection and medical therapy due to its superior antimicrobial activity and ecofriendly advantage [ 13 , 14 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Allicin has a prominent reactivity, antioxidant activity and membrane permeability, and can undergo thiol–disulphide exchange reactions with free thiol groups of proteins in microorganisms [ 13 , 14 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. In agriculture, allicin has been demonstrated to have satisfactory bioactivity against many plant-pathogenic fungi, such as Plectospherella cucumerina , Botrytis cinerea , Phytophthora infestans , Xanthomonas axonopodis , Magnaporthe grisea and Alternaria brassicicola [ 13 , 29 ].…”

Effects of Allicin on Pathophysiological Mechanisms during the Progression of Nephropathy Associated to Diabetes

“…This compound has shown various beneficial effects on chronic diseases. The biological activities from allicin include antimicrobial [22], antihypertensive [23,24], antioxidant [23,25], antidiabetic [25][26][27], cardioprotective [22][23][24][25], nephroprotective [23,24,26] as well as immunomodulator [22,27]. Several cellular mechanisms have been proposed to explain how allicin exerts its beneficial effects, but in renal fibrosis these are still unknown or poorly studied.…”