Urtica dioica extract mitigates doxorubicin-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity by suppressing oxidative stress and modulating biochemical indices: In vivo and molecular docking study

The therapeutic benefit of doxorubicin has led to a tremendous improvement in treating cancer. However, it has been associated with cardiotoxicity, renal, and hepatic toxicities, among others. Hence, the continuous search for natural scavengers of DOX-induced toxicity remains imperative. This study evaluated the hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effects of ethanol extracts of Urtica dioica (UD) leaves on doxorubicin-induced oxidative stress. This study comprised 5 groups: control, doxorubicin (DOX: 15 mg/kg), UD-treated group (DOX + 300 mg/kg), a second UD-treated group (DOX + 600 mg/kg), and UD-treated group (600 mg/kg alone). The in vitro antioxidant potential of UD was assayed with FRAP and DPPH, and GCMS-identified UD phytoconstituents were docked against NADPH oxidase (2CDU) and nitric oxide synthase (2FLQ) using molecular docking tools such as Discovery Studio, Open Babel, and PyRX. UD had a concentration-dependent FRAP better than BHT and a DPPH scavenging activity of IC50 265.96 g/ml. The DOX group had hepatic and renal alteration that was evident in the significant ( p