As a toxic heavy metal, lead (Pb) is well known for impairment of renal function due to oxidative injuries. Given the role of silibinin antioxidant activity, the present study investigated the effectiveness of silibinin-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (Sili-NLCs) against Pb-induced acute nephrotoxicity in rats. The emulsification-solvent evaporation method applied to prepare Sili-NLCs. Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into ten separate groups. Animals were treated with Pb (50 mg/kg/day, i.p.) and with the same concentration of silibinin and Sili-NLCs (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for six days. After sacrificing rats, kidney tissue samples were collected from all animals to assess the oxidative stress parameters. Also, histopathological examination using Hematoxylin-Eosin (H&E) studied. Our data revealed that Pb-induced oxidative damage which indicated by increasing lipid peroxidation (LPO) and nitric oxide (NO) accompanied by decreasing the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Moreover, the histopathological examination correlated well with these findings. However, silibinin and especially Sili-NLCs significantly prevented the induction of oxidative damage. Nevertheless, our data suggested that Sili-NLCs are potentially superior to pure silibinin for attenuating Pb-induced acute nephrotoxicity. So, using novel therapeutic approaches is highly required.

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