Traditional diabetes plant shows hidden risks with repeated use
Boudaia O, Sekkout Z, El Amrani N, Radallah D, El Hamsas El Youbi A
Medicinal Plants
If you've ever assumed 'natural remedy' means 'safe in any amount,' this plant's story is a reminder that dose and duration change everything, even for compounds humans have used medicinally for generations.
Tetraena gaetula is a desert plant long used in North African folk medicine to treat diabetes and inflammation. Scientists tested its alkaloid extract on mice and found that a single large dose was fairly harmless, but taking it daily for a month caused liver and kidney damage, weight loss, and even death at higher doses. Interestingly, it did lower blood sugar, backing up its traditional use, but the safety trade-off means it needs much more testing before anyone should consider it a reliable treatment.
Key Findings
Acute toxicity was low, with an LD50 between 6.3 and 6.7 g/kg, classified as practically non-toxic
Subacute daily dosing for 28 days caused dose-dependent toxicity, including mortality, liver enzyme elevation, and organ damage, especially at 500 mg/kg
The extract lowered blood glucose, supporting the plant's traditional use as an antidiabetic remedy despite its narrow safety margin
chevron_right Technical Summary
A North African medicinal plant used for diabetes and inflammation contains alkaloids that are relatively safe in a single dose but become harmful with repeated exposure, causing liver and kidney damage in mice at moderate doses.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Study of the acute and subacute toxicity of alkaloids from Tetraenagaetula.
Tetraena gaetula (syn. Zygophyllum gaetulum), a North African medicinal plant traditionally used to manage diabetes and inflammation, contains diverse bioactive compounds, including alkaloids. Howe...
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