Therapeutic potential of Tithonia diversifolia extract: Modulating IL-35, TNF-α, and hematology profile in streptozotocin-induced rat model

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a significant global health issue with increasing prevalence worldwide. Aim: This study aims to investigate the potential of Tithonia diversifolia extract (TE) in lowering interleukin-35 (IL-35), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and hematological profile in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rats. Methods: A total of 24 rats were divided into four treatment groups: control (P0), diabetic induction (P1), diabetic induction + TE (P2), and diabetic induction + quercetin (P3). Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single-dose injection of stz (60 mg/kg). TE treatment was administered orally for 7 days. On the 8th day post-treatment, all animals were euthanized, and blood samples were collected to assess inflammatory parameters, including IL-35, TNF-α, GPx, and hematological profiles. Kidney organs were fixed in 10% buffered neutral formalin for histopathological analysis. Data were analyzed using ANOVA followed by Duncan’s test (p < 0.05). Results: Evaluation of the hematological profile revealed significant improvements in the P2 and P3 groups, with decreased leukocytes, hemoglobin, lymphocytes, and neutrophils, as well as significantly lower IL-35 and TNF-α levels observed in diabetic rats following TE treatment. Conclusion: TE treatment exhibited promising effects in reducing inflammatory markers and restoring hematological parameters in diabetic rats, indicating its potential as a therapeutic agent in diabetic rats.