Gentamicin (GM) is an effective antibiotic against gram-negative bacterial infection. However, GM can produce nephrotoxicity. Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl. (SL) is extensively used in folk medicine as herbal tea and has strong antioxidative effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of SL on GM-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. In this study, forty-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six equal groups (N = 7 each): control (group I), GM-treated (group II), SL200 mg/kg + GM-treated (group III), SL400 mg/kg + GM-treated (group IV), SL200 mg/kg-treated (group V), and SL400 mg/kg-treated (group VI) groups. The treatment procedures continued for 10 days. At the end of the experiment, serum and the kidneys of all groups were harvested for histological and biochemical examination. No statistical significant improvement in histological and biochemical indices was shown at 200 mg/kg of SL treatment in group III compared with group II; however, at 400 mg/kg of SL, normalized serum levels of uric acid (P < 0.001), urea (P < 0.001), creatinine (P < 0.01), and total proteins (P < 0.05) were shown in group IV. Treatment with SL400 mg/kg also corrected the increased relative kidney weight in GM-treated animals (P < 0.05). GM nephrotoxicity was shown by elevated levels of malondialdehyde (P < 0.001) and decreased amounts of catalase (P < 0.001), superoxide dismutase (P < 0.01), and glutathione (P < 0.01) in renal tissue. The oxidative injury induced by GM was prevented by SL400 mg/kg treatment. Such treatment also normalized abnormal renal histology induced by GM. These data suggest that treatment with SL extract may be helpful to reduce gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity.
