Single Adult-human Equivalent Dose of Intramuscular Chloroquine did not Lower Blood Glucose Level in Fasted Wistar Rats

Abstract

Objectives: The 4-Aminoquinoline, Chloroquine is still indicated for treatment of malaria fever due to sensitive Plasmodium species. The hypoglycemic effects of Chloroquine have been sparsely reported in human and animal models of type 2 diabetes and a widely held perception among health caregivers in this part of the world is that administering Chloroquine intramuscularly to fasting malaria patients could be complicated by syncope, directly caused by hypoglycemia. This study investigated the effects of a single adult human intramuscular bolus of Chloroquine on the blood glucose level in fasting non-diabetic Wistar rats. Methods: Fifteen acclimatized adult male rats were randomly divided into three groups of 5 per group. Group I and II rats were fasted overnight and received 4.17 mg/kg of intramuscular Chloroquine in the morning. Group III rats were also fasted but received 1 ml of sterile water injection. Fasting blood sugar level was determined immediately after injection and at 2 h and 4 h intervals using Accucheck glucometer. Results: The results were recorded as Mean ± SEM. The mean sugar levels of the groups were compared with each other within a given time point as well as between the different time intervals within a given group, using the Student's t test of significance. There were no observable statistical significant differences between the Mean blood glucose levels of the groups. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that intramuscular Chloroquine injection in fasted non-diabetic rats did not significantly lower their blood glucose level and syncope in fasting adult humans immediately following treatment by this route is unlikely to be related to a Chloroquine-induced hypoglycemic effect.