Hematological evaluation of aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of Thaumatococcus daniellii and Alchornea cordifolia in Wistar rats

The study was conducted to evaluate the hematological indices of wistar rats administered with aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of T. daniellii and A. cordifolia. The work was separated into two portions categorized as Study A and B. A total of twenty five (25) adult male wistar rats were used for both studies. Meanwhile, each study consisted of two distinct groups of five rats each. A common control (Group I) of five rats which was administered with 2ml/kg distilled water orally was established for both studies. Groups II and III of Study A were administered with 200mg/kg b.w aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of T. daniellii orally respectively, while Groups II and III of Study B were administered with 200mg/kg b.w aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of A. cordifolia orally respectively. Animals were sacrificed after 14days of treatment and blood samples collected in EDTA containers were subjected to hematological analysis in accordance with standard procedures. Observations on Study A, showed that there was a significant reduction in the Hemoglobin concentration (Hb) (13.7±0.01g/l), Red Blood Cell (RBC) (62.20±0.27×106/µL) and packed cell volume (PCV) (38.75±0.02%) in group III of study A administered with 200mg/kg b.w methanolic leaf extract of T. daniellii compared to the control Hb (17.13±0.01g/dl), RBC (69.83×106/µL) and PCV (48.75±0.02%) respectively. However, the White Blood Cell was significantly high (10.13±0.02×103/µL) in group III compared to the control (7.13±0.02×103/µL). For Study B, administration of 200mg/kg b.w aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of A. cordifolia caused a significant reduction in Hb (12.5±0.02g/dl) and (12.09±0.02), RBC (61.92±0.06×106/µL) and (61.42±0.31×106/µL) and PCV (41.15±0.02%), (42.33±0.15%) respectively compared to the control Hb (17.13±0.01g/dl), RBC (69.83±0.01×106/µL) and PCV (48.75±0.02%). On the contrary, WBC was significantly high in groups II and III (9.54±0.02×103/µL) and (9.07±0.06×103/µL) respectively compared to the control (7.13±0.02×103/µL). In conclusion, preliminary drug discovery approach on T. daniellii leaf should prefer aqueous extraction so as to avoid components with possible anemia inducing capacity. However, the usage A. cordifolia extract as therapy should be complemented with an anti-anemic medication.