The preventive and therapeutic effects of α-lipoic acid on ethylene glycol-induced calcium oxalate deposition in rats

Objective To investigate the effect of alpha-lipoic acid (alpha-LA) in the prevention and treatment of ethylene glycol-induced calcium oxalate deposition in a rat model and preliminary exploration of the mechanism. Methods Sixty male Wistar rats were divided randomly and equally into six groups including two alpha-LA prevention groups, two alpha-LA therapeutic groups, one controlled group and one intervention group. Besides controlled group, other group received 1% glycol solution and 2 ml 2% ammonium chloride for 4 weeks as a stone inducer. The prevention groups received 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg body weight/day/rat alpha-LA as food supplement during inducing stone and therapeutic groups received 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg body weight/day/rat alpha-LA for 4 weeks after 4 weeks stone inducing. Results The volume of urine, the pH and magnesium levels in the preventive and therapeutic groups were higher in a dose-independent manner (p < 0.05), and urinary calcium was lower (p < 0.05). Antioxidant stress enzyme activity (glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase) in serum and kidney homogenates in the preventive and therapeutic groups underwent significant regeneration (p < 0.05) and malondialdehyde levels and the production of free radical moieties decreased. Pathological observation demonstrated that there was deformation due to renal tubular expansion in the control group, greater visible inflammatory cell infiltration into the interstitial spaces and partial destruction of the glomerular structures. alpha-lipoic acid improved the lesions to varying degrees. The extent of crystal deposition was lower in the preventive and therapeutic groups compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion The present study indicated that alpha-LA provides both preventive and therapeutic effects against the deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in rats.