Herbal Bilberry Protects the Kidney Against Damage

By Kyle J. Norton


Kideys are one of the main detoxed organs which filter the blood before passing the clear blood back to the circulatory system,  located on either side of the spine.

In other words, kidneys remove wastes and extra water from the blood to form urine.

Most wastes in the blood are the results of from normal breakdown of active muscle and the foods you eat.

Believe it or not,1 in 3 adults in the United States are at risk of getting kidney disease. According to the statistics provided by the CDC, approximately, 30 million people or 15% of US adults have chronic kidney disease (CKD), including 48% of those with severely reduced kidney function but not on dialysis are not aware of having CKD.

Nephrotoxicity caused by overdose or longterm used medication and exposed to toxins is one of the most common kidney problems, leading to acute and chronic kidney damage.

Other risk factors associated with kidney damage include diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

Some researchers suggested the rise of kidney disease in the US adults may be influenced by the increase of obesity, the condition of excess fat accumulation, particularly on the waist.

Dr. Csaba P. Kovesdy, the lead scientist wrote, "Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, and its prevalence has been projected to grow by 40% in the next decade".

And "In individuals affected by obesity, a compensatory hyperfiltration occurs to meet the heightened metabolic demands of the increased body weight. The increase in intraglomerular pressure can damage the kidneys and raise the risk of developing CKD in the long term. The incidence of obesity-related glomerulopathy has increased 10-fold in recent years. Obesity has also been shown to be a risk factor for nephrolithiasis, and for a number of malignancies including kidney cancer".

Bilberry is a species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium, belonging to the family Ericaceae, native to Northern Europe.

The plant berry has been used as herbs in traditional medicine for the treatment of acute and chronic diarrhea, gastritis, gastric ulcer, and duodenal ulcer, enterocolitis, ulcerative colitis, anemia, cystitis, kidney disease, and psoriasis, diabetes, etc.

With an aim to find a potent compound which protects the kidney against damage, researchers examined the anti nephrotoxic activity of bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus L.).

In an experimental model, induced serious kidney damage by a single intraperitoneal administration of 200 mg/kg KBrO3 induction of the increase in serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels, researchers compared the effects of five-day oral administration of bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus L.) extract at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg.

All doses normalized the levels of creatinine and reversed serum BUN.

In other words, bilberry extracts protect the kidney by inhibiting the toxicity caused by the injection of 200 mg/kg KBrO3.

The efficacy of bilberry extracts was attributed also to decreased kidney stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA), expression of free radicals associated with nitric oxide (NO), and xanthine oxidase (XOD) levels.

Futhermore, bilberry extract improved oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) levels in kidney tissue against the overexpression of ROS and NOS.

The results strongly suggested that bilberry protects the kidney by reducing the degree of oxidative stress and kidney damage induced by KBrO3. 

Dr. Bao L, the lead scientist wrote in the final report, "These findings demonstrate that the protective effect of bilberry extract is attributed to its free radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibitory effect".

Taken altogether, bilberry may be considered a functional remedy for the prevention and treatment of diseases involved kidney damage, pending to the validation of larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Protective effects of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) extract on KBrO3-induced kidney damage in mice by Bao L1, Yao XS, Tsi D, Yau CC, Chia CS, Nagai H, Kurihara H. (PubMed)
(2) Obesity and Kidney Disease. Hidden Consequences of the Epidemic by Csaba P. Kovesdy,1,2 Susan L. Furth,3 Carmine Zoccali,4 and on behalf of the World Kidney Day Steering Committee. (PMC)