Does treatment with gum Arabic affect experimental chronic renal failure in rats?
The effect of treatment with gum Arabic in rats with experimental chronic renal failure (CRF) was investigated. Some rats underwent two-stage surgical nephroectomy to induce CRF, and some were sham-operated. Gum Arabic was then given to rats in the drinking water at doses of 3 or 6 g/100 mL/day for five consecutive weeks. Thereafter, rats were killed and the concentrations of urea and creatinine measured in their plasma. Body weights of all rats were taken every week during the experimental period. The significant increases in the concentrations of urea and creatinine, induced by experimental CRF were slightly and insignificantly (P > 0.05) decreased by gum Arabic by about 8 and 13% in rats treated at doses of 3 and 6 g/100 mL/day in the drinking water, respectively. Treatment with gum Arabic at the two doses did not significantly reverse the decrease in body weight in CRF rats.
