To be diagnosed with kidney disease at any stage of life can be a big challenge for both patients as well as for people around. On that concern, World Kidney Day (WKD) is celebrated all over the world. This year on 11th March, under the theme of “Living well with Kidney diseases”, we as a health care provider aim to spread public awareness, in order to reduce the occurrence of kidney diseases.

Looking at the current situation Diabetes, Hypertension, kidney stones, NSAIDs and poor dietary habits are tending to be the leading cause of kidney diseases. Where Lifestyle & dietary habits being the most integral part of healthy living, brings to the table where we will discover the new enemy of kidney health- Dietary AGEs.

Have you ever wondered what is that charred brownish-black layer over grilled and smoked food items? or were you aware that this crispy charred part may lead you towards Chronic Kidney disease (CKD)?

A deceptive enemy

That charred part in science is known as Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE), they are proteins and fats which form strong bonds upon exposure to heat as they are a result of millard chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars. AGE is extensively common & when it is consumed in our diet then it is called as dietary age (dAGE).

These dAGEs are reported to cause oxidative stress and inflammation due to non-enzymatic modification of plasma proteins such as albumin, fibrinogen and globulins. These alterations lead to platelet activation, impaired fibrinolysis and generation of free radicals which in turn aggravate and initiate kidney disorder as kidneys are one of the major organs to get rid of AGE from the body. A review of scientific literature also confirms an increase in TNF - alpha with increase in dietary consumption of AGE indicating strong correlation of dAGE induced oxidative stress and inflammation.

This kidney dysfunction kickstarts of vicious cycle leading to faster decline in kidney function as AGE is rapidly accumulated in the Kidneys and due to poor excretion, more AGE gets produced which leads to structural changes in glomerulosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy and non-diabetic kidney disease.

Countering the enemy

One of the most promising counteractions involve breakdown of AGE through supplementation of antioxidant which offers a robust shield to protect the renal architecture and functions. With limited specificity of synthetic antioxidants on kidneys, researchers have come out with Kidney Specific Super Antioxidants (KSSA) derived from plants and according to research published in Pharmaceutical Biology extracts of Boerhavia diffuse (Punernava), Rheum emodi (Revand chini), Nelumbo nucifera (Kamal) & Crateva nurvula (Varuna) have showed significant nephroprotective activity by virtue of strong antioxidant action.

The combination of these herbs also restored normal kidney function parameters and histopathological changes caused by methotrexate, a nephrotoxic drug. To extend the benefit of this research Aimil Pharmaceuticals (India) Limited has come up with NEERI KFT which combines all above mentioned herbs along with

• Hemidesmus indicus (Sariva) to deliver KSSA which increase level of antioxidant like CAT, SOD, GPx.
• It also supplements actives to inhibit inflammation by Curcuma longa (Haridra) which reduces inflammatory mediators such as TNF- alpha, NF - Kappa beta.
• To augment nephroprotection, extracts to prevent deposition of 2,8 - dihydroxyadenine content at S1, S2 & S3 segment of nephron derived from Rheum emodi are also incorporated which offers the much-needed delay in the progression of kidney disease.

The way ahead

With deceptive enemies of Kidney like AGE at our doorstep, it’s high time we opt for Kidney Specific Super Antioxidant (KSSA). These antioxidants with their demonstrated ability to shield Kidneys are our best resort in an endeavour of achieving optimum kidney health for all.