Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs) have not only improved therapeutic outcomes in the treatment of
HIV infection but have also led to an increase in associated metabolic complications of NRTIs.
Naringin's effects in mitigating NRTI-induced complications were investigated in this study. Wistar rats, randomly allotted into seven groups (n = 7) were orally treated daily for 56 days with 100 mg/kg
zidovudine (AZT) (groups I, II III), 50 mg/kg
stavudine (
d4T) (groups IV, V, VI) and 3 mL/kg of distilled water (group VII). Additionally, rats in groups II and V were similarly treated with 50 mg/kg
naringin, while groups III and VI were treated with 45 mg/kg
vitamin E. AZT or
d4T treatment significantly reduced
body weight and plasma
high density lipoprotein concentrations but increased liver weights, plasma
triglycerides and total
cholesterol compared to controls, respectively. Furthermore, AZT or
d4T treatment significantly increased oxidative stress, adiposity index and expression of
Bax protein, but reduced Bcl-2
protein expression compared to controls, respectively. However, either
naringin or
vitamin E significantly mitigated AZT- or d4T-induced
weight loss,
dyslipidemia, oxidative stress and hepatocyte apoptosis compared to AZT- or d4T-only treated rats. Our results suggest that
naringin reverses metabolic complications associated with NRTIs by ameliorating oxidative stress and apoptosis. This implies that
naringin supplements could mitigate
lipodystrophy and
dyslipidemia associated with NRTI
therapy.