Hamadan University of Medical Sciences Avicenna Journal of Medical Biochemistry 2345-4113 10 2 2022 12 21 Investigating Preventive Effect of Vitamin D and N-acetylcysteine Against Kidney Injury in Rats Versus the Promotive Effect of Paraquat 114 119 10.34172/ajmb.2022.2375 EN Hamed Felehgari Nejat Khiripour Fereshteh Mehri https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0106-245X Sara Soleimani Asl Davoud Ahmadimoghaddam Akram Ranjbar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4564-3603 Journal Article 10.34172/ajmb.2022.2375 2022 07 17 2022 10 03 Background: Paraquat (PQ) is one of the most important herbicides used in agriculture. Objectives: This study was conducted to compare the preventive effect of vitamin D (Vit D) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) against kidney injury in rats versus the promotive effect of PQ. Methods: In this study, rats were divided into six groups. The control group (group 1) received normal saline, Vit D group (group 2) received intraperitoneal (IP) injections of+Vit D (2 μg/kg), NAC group (group 3) received NAC (6.25 mg/kg, IP), PQ group (group 4) received PQ (5 mg/kg/d, IP), PQ+Vit D group (group 5) received PQ+Vit D (5 mg/kg/d+2 μg/kg/d, IP) and PQ+NAC group (group 6) received PQ+NAC (5 mg/kg/d+6.25 mg/kg/d, IP). The animals were treated for 7 consecutive days as a sub-chronic exposure. After the collection of urea and serum creatinine, biomarkers of oxidative stress and kidney histopathology were investigated. Results: PQ increased lipid peroxidation (LPO), urea, and serum creatinine, but it significantly decreased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and thiol groups. In the groups treated with Vit D and NAC, it was observed that LPO, urea, and creatinine significantly decrease compared with the PQ group, and TAC, thiol groups, and Vit D levels increased in kidney tissue. Conclusion: The obtained findings revealed that both Vit D and NAC used as preventive compound were able to reduce oxidative stress and tissue damage caused by PQ toxicity in the kidney.