Ali M Al-rawaq¹, Nadheerah F Neamah¹, Ali Alhamza²

¹Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Basrah; ²Faiha Specialized Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Center (FDEMC), Basrah, Iraq.

For correspondence:-  Ali Alhamza   Email: ali.alhamza@fdemc.iq

Received: 23 December 2025        Accepted: 20 February 2026        Published: 05 March 2026

Citation: Al-rawaq AM, Neamah NF, Alhamza A. Asprosin as a novel biomarker for predicting diabetes mellitus risk in humans. Trop J Pharm Res 2026; 25(2):155-160 doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v25i2.2

© 2026 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To compare serum asprosin levels among diabetic patients, insulin-resistant individuals, and healthy controls, and to explore its correlation with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), Random Blood Sugar (RBS) and body mass index (BMI). Methods: The study included 130 participants: 110 patients with diabetes-related metabolic conditions (55 with type 2 diabetes mellitus [G1] and 55 insulin-resistant individuals [G2]) and 20 healthy controls (G3) in Faiha Specialized Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Center (FDEMC) in Basra, Iraq and were divided into two groups: type 2 diabetic patients (G1), insulin-resistant individuals (G2), and another 20 healthy individuals (Control; G3). Serum asprosin levels, HbA1c, body weight (BW), height, and BMI were measured. Statistical analysis included comparisons among groups and least significant difference (LSD) testing. Results: Serum asprosin levels were significantly higher in diabetes mellitus group (3.48 ± 1.88 ng/mL) than both the insulin-resistant (1.56 ± 1.07 ng/mL) and healthy control groups (1.14 ± 0.70 ng/mL; p < 0.05). Similar trends were observed in HbA1c levels, with diabetes mellitus group having the highest values (9.60 ± 2.35). In comparison to control group, the insulin-resistant and diabetic groups had significantly higher BMI and body weight values (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Elevated asprosin levels are associated with diabetes mellitus and correlate positively with poor glycemic control and increased BMI. Thus, asprosin may serve as a valuable biomarker for insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation in diabetes.

Keywords: Asprosin, Glucose homeostasis, Glycated hemoglobin, Random blood sugar, Body mass index, Metabolic dysregulation

Impact Factor
Thompson Reuters (ISI): 0.6 (2023)
H-5 index (Google Scholar): 49 (2023)