MODULATORY EFFECT OF METFORMIN AND ARTEMETHERLUMEFANTRINE ON BLOOD COAGULATION IN DIABETIC MICE COINFECTED WITH MALARIA

Abstract

Blood coagulation is a process describing conversion of soluble materials within the blood into an insoluble gel that plugs injury/break site within blood vessels; this process requires regulation. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, defectiveness of insulin hormone has been found to have an increased risk of coagulation and can lead to cardiovascular disorders. Malaria is a disease caused by plasmodium parasite, when the parasite enters the bloodstream; proteins are secreted into the host’s red blood cells, which stick to other blood cells making them adherent to blood vessel walls reducing detection and destruction of infected blood cells by the immune system which potentially causes blood clots. Effect of anti-malaria drugs on blood coagulation has not been properly investigated, as diabetics have been found to have possible co-infection with malaria, this study aims to provide information on the modulation of blood coagulation by metformin and artemether-lumefantrine in diabetic mice co-infected with malaria. Fifty albino mice (BALB/C strain) were divided into 8 groups for this study; group I served as the normal control, group II served as diabetes negative control, group III served as malaria only, group IV served as diabetes co-infected with malaria group, group V served as malaria treated with 6.86 mg/body weight of artemether-lumefantrine, group VI served as diabetes treated with 200 mg/body weight of metformin, group VII served as diabetes coinfected malaria and treated with 200 mg/body weight of metformin and group VIII served as diabetes co-infected with malaria and treated with 200 mg/body weight of metformin and 6.86 mg/body weight of artemether-lumefantrine. The results showed artemether-lumefantrine having an anti-coagulant effect on prothrombin time of extrinsic factors in malaria positive treatment group, metformin having a procoagulant effect on intrinsic factors in diabetes positive control group, and artemetherlumefantrine elevating the fibrinogen concentration in malaria positive control group. These findings suggest that while metformin is the first-line drug with an anti-coagulant effect on diabetes, artemether-lumefantrine not only could cure plasmodium falciparum but also possesses an anticoagulant effect.