Actions of Persea americana on Some Blood Parameters of Male Wistar Rats

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the ethanolic extract of Persea americana (avocado) on the haematological parameters of male Wistar rats. The rats were randomly divided into three groups of five rats each. They were treated with ethanolic extract of Persea americana (except the control group). Group 1 received distilled water, Group 2 received 200mg/kg of the extract and Group 3 received 400mg/kg of the extract. The administration was done for 21 days. At the end of the administration, the rats were sacrificed under chlorofoam aneaesthesia and blood samples obtained and sent to the laboratory for analysis. The statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 21.0. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to compare means. There was a significant (p<0.5) increase in packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration. There was no significant change in platelet count, white blood cell count, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, neutrophils count, lymphocytes count, eosinophil and monocyte count, Result of the present study has shown that the ethanolic stem bark extract of Persea americana improved the red cell series and may be useful in treatment of anaemia because of its ability to cause a significant increase in PCV, RBC and Hb concentration.