Potential Role of Gum Arabic as Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Agent in Hemodialysis Patients

The oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage.

Cells continuously produce free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) as part of metabolic processes. These free radicals are neutralized by an elaborate antioxidant defense system consisting of enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and numerous non-enzymatic antioxidants, including vitamins A, E and C and glutathione.

Oxidative stress has been linked to the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, such as renal disease, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, arthritis neurodegenerative diseases (i.e., Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease), and aging.

The prevalence and incidence of patient suffering from chronic renal failure is increasing worldwide and locally in Sudan(5). Several publication suggest that oxidative processes may be increased in patients with renal failure. As oxidative stress plays a role in renal damage it offers a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

There is a lot of factors that can lead to oxidative stress in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) . Intravenous administration of iron is widely prescribed in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and can cause oxidative stress.Hemodialysis is often used for removal of excessive toxins, metabolic products, and blood components from patients with end-stage renal diseases (ESRD). Clinical studies have confirmed that hemodialysis (HD) is associated with the development of oxidative stress and disturbance in the enzyme systems that protect against oxygen free radicals.