Antidiabetic Potential of Tragia involucrata Linn in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Swiss Albino Mice Corroborates its Usage by Diabetic Patients in Nyamira County, Kenya

Antidiabetic Potential of Tragia involucrata Linn in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Swiss Albino Mice Corroborates its Usage by Diabetic Patients in Nyamira County, Kenya | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Antidiabetic Potential of Tragia involucrata Linn in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Swiss Albino Mice Corroborates its Usage by Diabetic Patients in Nyamira County, Kenya Benard Onsongo Apiri, Dr. Cromwell Mwiti Kibiti, Prof.Huxley Mae Makonde, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6734094/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic chronic condition that is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and the resulting complications of the disease include nephropathy, neuropathy and cardiovascular disease. Although there are many options for using synthetic antidiabetic drugs, the use of these drugs has been limited due to side effects, the cost of the drugs and limited access to the drugs, especially in developing countries. In this research study we evaluated the chemical composition of Tragia involucrata Linn leaves that have been extracted using Dichloromethane (DCM), the ability of the extracts to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetic mice and the safety profile of the extracts. Blood glucose levels were monitored hourly and weekly in alloxan induced diabetic Swiss albino mice after intraperitoneal injection of extracts of T. involucrata at doses of 120, 170, 220 and 270 mg/kg bw. The results of the GC-MS analyses of the extracts indicated the presence of bioactive compounds such as phytol, squalene, beta-sitosterol and hydrocarbon chains of varying length which are all known to be effective in reducing elevated blood sugar levels. The extracts of T. involucrata were found to have a dose dependent hypoglycemic effect and the highest dose (270 mg/kg bw) reduced glucose levels in a rapid and sustained manner similar to the standard treatment. These results also show that the extracts of T. involucrata elicited an acute glycemic response when measured hourly but showed evidence of long-term efficacy when measured weekly over a period of 28 days. Both the acute and subacute toxicity studies of the DCM extracts of T. involucrata demonstrated no mortality or major toxic signs in the mice treated with the extracts. Results from biochemical markers assessment, specifically for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, urea, creatinine and bilirubin did not reveal any significant perturbations, demonstrating that the liver and kidney were functioning normally with minor stress at higher doses. Safety evaluation was also conducted through measurement of organ weights of key organs, including the liver, kidneys, spleen, heart, lungs and brain. The absence of significant changes in these organ weights supports the favorable safety profile of the extract. The findings validate the traditional usage of the medicinal plant by diabetic patients in Nyamira County, Kenya. Future comprehensive studies of the T. involucrata should focus on antidiabetic properties of pure bioactive compounds and lead molecules identification for drug discovery and development. Drug Discovery, Design, & Development Medicinal plants antidiabetic activity diabetes mellitus alloxan-induced diabetes phytochemicals Swiss albino mice glibenclamide Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6734094","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":592787682,"identity":"c7fd5f3f-077b-4f0e-bff1-c086837a7ca7","order_by":0,"name":"Benard Onsongo 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Although there are many options for using synthetic antidiabetic drugs, the use of these drugs has been limited due to side effects, the cost of the drugs and limited access to the drugs, especially in developing countries. In this research study we evaluated the chemical composition of \u003cem\u003eTragia involucrata \u003c/em\u003eLinn leaves that have been extracted using Dichloromethane (DCM), the ability of the extracts to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetic mice and the safety profile of the extracts. Blood glucose levels were monitored hourly and weekly in alloxan induced diabetic Swiss albino mice after intraperitoneal injection of extracts of \u003cem\u003eT. involucrata \u003c/em\u003eat doses of 120, 170, 220 and 270 mg/kg bw. 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