Morphology of the Lungs of White Rats Corrected by Tincture of Dandelion Root in Renal Failure After Chemotherapy: A Narrative Review
Abstract
Background and Purpose. The incidence of nephrotoxicity in patients being treated with cisplatin based chemotherapy has a dose effect that results in the activation of systemic pathophysiological cascades that are well distant of the effected nephrotoxicity. One of the most endangered distant organs is the lung, which, in the affective state, suffers structural damage due to the accumulation of uremic toxins, excessive cytokines in the body, propagation of oxidative stress, and dysfunction of aquaporin water channels. Taraxacum officinale Weber (dandelion), known by a variety of names (as listed above), is a globally distributed medicinal plant, with a rich phytochemical profile composed of sesquiterpene lactones, triterpenoids, phenolic acid, and flavonoids which confer well-documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and nephroprotective effects. The current narrative review is an extensive study of pulmonary morphological alterations related to cisplatin-induced kidney failure in the Wistar rat model and assessed the morpho corrective effect of dandelion root tincture on the structural perturbations of cisplatin-induced kidney failure. Methods. Extensive literature synthesis was done through both PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases by use of MeSH and free-text keywords such as cisplatin nephrotoxicity, lung morphology rat, renal failure pulmonary changes, and Taraxacum officinale kidney. Papers published since 1995 and 2024 were critically reviewed and incorporated selectively considering the methodological quality, mechanistically relevant, and the impact of ongoing publications.Principal Findings. The administration of 5-7 mg/kg Cisplatin intraperitoneally in Wistar rats is reproducible as it causes acute kidney injury with detectable changes (evident in structural features) of the pulmonary structure: alveolar wall thickening (48l-2mm to 122l-2mm and increasing), blood-air barrier destruction (03). By administration at the same time as the insult or later in the day, dandelion root tincture (10 mL/kg/day, 1:5 ethanol preparation) induced morphometric restoration across all measures mediated by mechanisms of upstream nephroprotection and direct pulmonary by either an antioxidant or an anti-inflammatory effect. Conclusion. The evidence that has been reviewed forms a strong mechanistic and morphological argument in support of a dual cytoprotective action of T. officinale root tincture in the models of cisplatin nephrotoxicity. This preclinical evidence warrants intensive translational studies and controlled clinical trials on dandelion preparations as adjuvant nephro- and pulmono-protective agents in cancer case studies.