Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Assiut · Published 2026-06-17 · DOI 10.21608/bfsa.2026.477241.3065
Seham El-Feki, Eman EL-Nahass, Sabry Ali El- Naggar, Mohamed A Basyony
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2-DM) is a chronic metabolic condition marked by sustained hyperglycemia, leading to systemic consequences such as diabetic nephropathy and haematological disorders. Natural products, particularly bioactive materials, have gained considerable interest as potential therapeutic agents attributed to their multifunctional properties and renoprotective effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the antidiabetic and renoprotective effects of artemisinin (Art), thymoquinone (TQ) and their combination in T2-DM rat model. Seventy male albino rats were divided into 7 groups (n=10) as follows. The 1st (Gp1) served as a control group. From Gp2 to Gp7, rats were fed a high-fat diet for three months and then injected intraperitoneally with streptozotocin (STZ) (25 mg/kg b.wt) intraperitoneally to induce T2-DM. Next, Gp2 served as T2-DM rats, Metformin (Met) (250 mg/kg b.wt) was administered to Gp3, Art (75 mg/kg b.wt) to Gp4, TQ (50 mg/kg b.wt) to Gp5, a combination of Art/TQ (as in Gp4 and Gp5) to Gp6, and Met/Art/TQ (as in Gp3, 4, and 5) to Gp7. After a month of treatments, all groups were sacrificed; haematological parameters, urea and creatinine levels, and histological alterations in kidney tissues were determined. The results demonstrated that Art or TQ monotherapy improved hematological parameters and renal function and alleviated T2-DM induced histopathological alterations. In contrast, the co-treatment with Art/TQ showed a relatively reduced protective efficacy compared with each compound used individually. In conclusion, Art or TQ monotherapy exerted greater renoprotective and hematological improvements in T2-DM rats than their combined administration.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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El-Feki, S., EL-Nahass, E., Naggar, S., et al. (2026). Histological and biochemical evidence of the protective effects of artemisinin and thymoquinone against diabetic nephropathy in male rats. Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Assiut. https://doi.org/10.21608/bfsa.2026.477241.3065