On the nephrotoxicity of α-amanitin and the antagonistic effects of silymarin in rats

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Abstract
In human beings, poisoning by the deathcup mushroom causes renal lesions in addition to extremely severe liver damage. It is known from animal experiments that silymarin, a polyhydroxyphenylchromanone, is capable of counteracting this α-amanitin-induced liver damage. The purpose of the present work was to ascertain whether renal damage could be induced in rats by giving α-amanitin, and whether silymarin would have any effect on such renal damage. The fact that α-amanitin produces pathological changes in the kidneys and that these lesions can be almost completely prevented by pretreating rats with silymarin has now been amply demonstrated by biochemical and histological techniques alike.