Objectives The belief of therapeutic effects of herbal remedies in diseases such as diabetes is rooted in medical history. The present study evaluated protective efficacy of the hydroalcoholic extract of Vitex pseudo-negundo leaves (VLHE) on the renal disorders in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Methods Fifty Wistar male rats were recruited and divided into five groups of 10, including healthy controls and diabetic controls: three diabetic groups of which first group was treated with glibenclamide, and two groups treated with 250 and 500 mg/kg of VLHE, respectively, for six weeks. Renal biochemical tests and tissue histopathological evaluation were performed and the antioxidant status was examined. Results There were significant decreases in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and increases in malondialdehyde levels in renal tissue of diabetic groups compared with healthy controls. In the VLHE-treated rats, fasting blood sugar, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine were declined, serum albumin elevated, kidney weight lowered, lipid peroxidation and reinforcement of the activities of antioxidant enzymes decreased compared with healthy groups. Histological assessments revealed that the vacuolar degeneration of tubules and shrinkage of glomeruli in VLHE-treated rats was decreased compared with diabetic rats. Conclusions The study suggested that administrating of VLHE in nephropathic rats ameliorated the disease by reduction of oxidative stress and increase in renal antioxidant enzyme activities.
