ORIGINAL RESEARCH Ginger Feeding Protects Against Renal Oxidative Damage Caused by Alcohol Consumption in Rats Shanmugam Kondeti Ramudu, PhD,* Mallikarjuna Korivi, PhD,† Nishanth Kesireddy, MSc,‡ Chung-Yu Chen, MSc,† Chia Hua Kuo, PhD,† and Sathyavelu Reddy Kesireddy, PhD* Objective: This study investigated the nephro-protective effect of ginger against chronic alcohol-induced oxida- tive stress and tissue damage. Design: This is a prospective animal study in which renal antioxidant enzymes were demolished by alcohol consumption and restored with ginger feeding. We fed rats with ginger for 30 days to evaluate the nephro- protective effect against alcohol toxicity. Methods: Twenty-four Wistar strain rats were divided into 4 equal groups: normal control (Nc), ginger treated (Gt), alcohol treated (At), and alcohol plus ginger treated (At 1 Gt). Ginger was given to the At group for 30 days and renal antioxidant enzymes were assayed. Results: Renal antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activities, and the levels of glutathione were significantly (P , .001) decreased, whereas malondialdehyde levels were elevated in At group. However, ginger extract supplementation to the At rats reversed these effects and attained the antioxidant status to normal levels. Furthermore, degenerative changes in renal cells with alcohol treatment were minimized to nearness in architecture by ginger supplementation. Conclusions: This study concludes that alcohol-induced nephro-toxicity was attenuated by ginger extract treat- ment, thus ginger can used as a regular nutrient to protect the renal cells. Ó 2011 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. C ONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC bever- ages is considered as a usual habit in most societies around the world. Alcoholism is a serious human health ailment that can disturb the impor- tant defense systems in the body, including kidney tissue. Excess alcohol intake increases free radical or reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and causes oxidative stress by compromising the antioxidant defense system. 1,2 Earlier studies reported that chronic alcohol consumption can deplete the antioxidant enzyme activities in particular superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and increased the peroxidative damage in the kidney of rats. 3,4 ROS-induced altered antioxidant system further continued to damage the vital biomole- cules, and this condition ultimately impaired the kidney function. 4 Since, kidneys are involved in the maintenance of body homeostasis; their dysfunction can occur at any time from the ingested drugs or chemicals. 5 In the recent time, many natural products are being used to protect the tissues from various drugs or chemicals-induced toxicities. Among the natu- ral products, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, commonly known as ginger (rhizome), is used worldwide as *Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Zoology, Sri Ven- kateswara University, Andhra Pradesh, India. †Laboratory of Exercise Biochemistry, Taipei Physical Education College, Taipei City, Taiwan. ‡Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark,New Jersey. Address reprint requests to Sathyavelu Reddy Kesireddy, PhD, Division of Molecular Biology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati 517502, Andhra Pradesh, India. E-mail: ksreddy2008@ hotmail.com or sathyakreddy@hotmail.com Ó 2011 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. 1051-2276/$36.00 doi:10.1053/j.jrn.2010.03.003 Journal of Renal Nutrition, Vol 21, No 3 (May), 2011: pp 263–270 263