Eureka Herba Indonesia
Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025): Eureka Herba Indonesia

Network-Pharmacology-Guided Validation of Phyllanthus niruri Nephroprotection Against Doxorubicin: An In Vitro–In Vivo Translational Study

Rachmat Hidayat (Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sriwijaya, Palembang, Indonesia)
Vania Delma (Department of Nursing, Brasilia Familia Clinic, Brasilia, Brazil)
Indri Yani Septiana (Department of Physiology, CMHC Research Center, Palembang, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
26 Jun 2026

Abstract

Doxorubicin is a corner-stone anthracycline chemotherapeutic whose clinical utility is constrained by dose-limiting nephrotoxicity, and no approved pharmacological prevention currently exists. Phyllanthus niruri L. (Family Phyllanthaceae) — locally known in Indonesia as meniran — is a phytotherapeutic herb whose constituents (phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin, quercetin, rutin, gallic acid, and corilagin) target oxidative-stress and inflammatory pathways implicated in doxorubicin renal injury. We applied a tiered translational design: (i) network-pharmacology discovery using SwissTargetPrediction, TCMSP, GeneCards, and OMIM intersected six P. niruri active compounds with 842 nephrotoxicity-associated genes, identifying six hub targets (TNF, IL6, NFKB1, CASP3, BAX, BCL2) and four enriched KEGG pathways (TNF signaling, MAPK, PI3K-Akt, Apoptosis); (ii) in vitro validation in HK-2 human proximal tubular cells exposed to doxorubicin (2 µM, 24 h) with or without standardised P. niruri 70% ethanolic extract (25, 50, 100 µg/mL); and (iii) in vivo validation in 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats (eight per arm) given a single intraperitoneal dose of doxorubicin (15 mg/kg) and oral P. niruri at 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg/day for 14 days. P. niruri produced a dose-dependent rescue of HK-2 viability (84.6% at 100 µg/mL versus 41.8% in doxorubicin-only controls; p < 0.001) and reduced serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, urinary KIM-1, and NGAL by 55–70% at the 400 mg/kg dose with concordant restoration of glutathione and superoxide dismutase. Network-pharmacology hub targets showed transcriptionally coherent modulation. The findings support standardised P. niruri ethanolic extract as a mechanism-anchored herbal candidate for adjunctive prevention of doxorubicin-induced kidney injury, warranting clinical translation.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

EHI

Publisher

Subject

Medicine & Pharmacology

Description

Eureka Herba Indonesia (EHI) is peer review scientific journal that focused on reserach in exploration potential Herba of Indonesia for enhancing healthy. EHI focused on : 1. Medicinal Plants. 2. Efficacy of Herba Study. 3. Safety of Herba Study. 4. Animals that potential for developing as healthy ...