Indian Journal of Animal Research 470 RESEARCH ARTICLE Indian Journal of Animal Research, Volume 58 Issue 3: 470-477 (March 2024) Effect of a Combination of Citric Acid and Selenium Nanoparticles on Male Rats Nephrotoxicity Caused by Carbon Tetrachloride Jameel Al-Tamimi 1 , Hossam Ebaid 1 , Iftekhar Hassan 1 , Mohamed Habila 2 , Nawal M. Al Malahi 1 , Ibrahim M. Alhazza 1 10.18805/IJAR.BF-1706 ABSTRACT Background: To investigate the therapeutic effects of a combination of citric acid and Se-NPs against carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )- induced renal damage in rats. Methods: Twenty-four rats were divided into three groups (n=8 each). Group 1 (control) received the vehicle, while Group 2 received a single dose of 1 ml/kg CCl 4 in liquid paraffin (1:1 volume) via intraperitoneal injection. Group 3 was administered a single dose of 1 ml/kg CCl 4 in liquid paraffin and then treated twice a week for three weeks with a dose of 2.5 mg/kg Se-NPs. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s method were used to compare the overall effects of each treatment. Result: CCL 4 elevated MDA levels and decreased GSH levels in group 2 animals compared with those in the control group. Se-NPs significantly restored the oxidative stability in group 3. We found that CCL 4 significantly increased its effect on renal function, whereas Se-NPs restored the renal structure affected by CCL 4 . As a result, Se-NPs can potentially reduce the markers of renal injury caused by CCl 4 , while also restoring oxidative stability and renal structure and function. Key words: CCl 4 , Citric acid, Nephrotoxicity, Oxidative stress, Selenium nanoparticles. I NTRODUCTION Globally, kidney disease or complications increase the risk of death to people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, age and obesity (Koye et al., 2018). The prevalence of such renal disease ranges between 8% and 16% in patients with the mentioned diseases. Cellular damage may be caused by exposure to various organic molecules, including environmental contaminants and medications (Haghi et al., 2014) that contribute to kidney diseases and nephrotoxicity (Bibu et al., 2011; Sales and Foresto, 2020). Suppose the disease-induced, toxicant or drug-mediated nephrotoxicity is not addressed timely with adequate treatment. In that case, it can lead to severe health compromise, single or multiple organ failure, cancer and even death. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) is an intensively researched chemical toxicant and environmental pollutant to study hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in vivo (Baig and Khan, 2023). CCl 4 is commonly used as an organic solvent in dry cleaning, production of chloroform, aerosol propellant, fabric-spotting fluid, fire extinguisher fluid and refrigerating agent. However, during its usage in various forms, the compound has been established as a strong hepatoxicant and nephrotoxicant along with suspected carcinogen (Cohen et al., 2023). Therefore, many investigators are working in this field of research to investigate in regulating its exposure to mankind and environment by administration of herbal active compound or drug (Ahmed et al., 2020; Alhazza et al., 2022; Alhazza et al., 2020; Alhazza et al., 2023; Ebaid et al., 2021; Ebaid et al., 2020; Hassan et al., 2019). The use of nanotechnology for drug delivery may lead to the development of new types of medicines (Sahu et al., 2021). Drug delivery is significantly affected by several biomolecules acting together. Extensive dataset analysis, interpretation methodologies and dataset applications for nanomaterials have improved and facilitated their use in health and environment sectors (Dixit et al., 2022). Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are extensively studied nanoparticles in dealing with various clinical and industrial issues (Ebaid et al., 2021; Goltyaev and Varlamova, 2023). Selenium is essential trace element for the body because it 1 Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. 2 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Corresponding Author: Jameel Al-Tamimi, Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Email: jhattamimi@gmail.com How to cite this article: Al-Tamimi, J., Ebaid, H., Hassan, I., Habila, M., Al Malahi, N.M. and Alhazza, I.M. (2024). Effect of a Combination of Citric Acid and Selenium Nanoparticles on Male Rats Nephrotoxicity Caused by Carbon Tetrachloride. Indian Journal of Animal Research. 58(3): 470-477. doi: 10.18805/IJAR.BF-1706. Submitted: 22-09-2023 Accepted: 01-12-2023 Online: 04-01-2024