## 1 Introduction  
The renal system, characterized by a significant amount of blood supply from the cardiac output, carries out several vital tasks, including eliminating exogenous medications and toxins from the blood, controlling water fluid levels, and adjusting the body's acid-base balance [1]. This vital organ's high metabolic activities and transporter capacity make it more vulnerable to nephrotoxicity and increase its sensitivity to several types of failure [2]. Renal impairment caused by medication treatments is a regular occurrence in clinical care. The use of nephrotoxic drugs is responsible for about 20% of renal insufficiencies among hospitalized patients [3].  
Aminoglycos (AG) have long been among the most common causes of drug-induced nephrotoxicity [4]. Despite their adverse side effects, AG remains the main viable treatment option for bacteria resistant to other antibiotics [5]. This is mainly attributed to their chemical stability, immediate bactericidal activity, synergy with \(\beta\)-lactam antibiotics, limited resistance, and inexpensive cost [6]. Gentamicin (GM), the most nephrotoxic antibiotic in the AG class, externalizes its toxicity even at low doses [7,8]. Furthermore, in experimental studies, GM has been frequently utilized as a suitable substance to provoke animal nephrotoxicity [9]. Numerous researchers have shown that one of the fundamental mechanisms for the nephrotoxicity caused by this antibiotic is the oxidative stress induced by GM metabolism [7,10]. The formation of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals is caused by renal cortical mitochondria due to the GM nephrotoxicity, which is also accompanied by an increase in lipid peroxidation. In this context, natural resources, such as medicinal plants, which are a source of natural antioxidants, can be employed as a treatment for this issue to lessen the nephrotoxicity brought on by drugs that promote oxidative stress. Among medicinal flora of Morocco, _Thymelea microphylla_ Coss. et Dur. (_T. microphylla_), an endemic desert species [11], is a herbaceous plant growing in the Saharan region under harsh conditions [12]. This plant, classified under the genus _Thymelaea_, has smaller leaves and flowers, is well known for its vernacular name \"_Methane_\" in Morocco, and is frequently used traditionally to treat various ailments [13]. Recently, our team conducted ethnobotanical fieldwork in a remote area of North Eastern Morocco and revealed that this plant species had been used to treat pyclonephritis, diuretics, renal colic, and kidney stones [14]. The scientific literature regarding the pharmacology of _T. microphylla_, indicated that this species has different properties such as antibacterial [12,15], antioxidant [11], and antidiabetic ones [12]. Also, the phytochemistry of this plant showed that the aerial part of _T. microphylla_ is rich in phenolic compounds such as resorcinol, catechchin, chlorogenic acid, syringic acid, sinapic acid, trans-hydroxycinamic acid, isoquercitrin, ellagic acid, myricetin, kaempfer 3-O-rutinoside, trans-cinnamic acid, luteolin, and apigenin [16]. In addition, the pharmacological activities of flavonoids and phenolic substances of plant origin, including antioxidant and nephprotective actions, are well established [17]. To our best knowledge, the aerial part of this Moroccan plant species has not been studied for its nephoprotective properties. In this respect, we conducted this research to see if the aqueous extract of the APTM could protect _Wistar_ rats from nephrotoxicity caused by GM, and if it has antioxidant activity.