Abstract
Hematologicarl disordes have attained epidemic proportions worldwide today. As a result, many people turn to medicinal plants for treatment thereby boosting and enhancing health because professional care is not immediately available, is too inconvenient, costly and time consuming. Certain medicinal plants are believed to promote positive health and maintain organic resistance against infection. The use of medicinal plants which are readily available and arguably efficacious would therefore over a better and affordable alternative for boosting and enhancing health. Assessment of hematological parameters can be used to determine the extent of deleterious effect of foreign compounds including plant extracts on the bloodconstituents of an animal. Various chemical constituents of Vernonia lasiopus are believed to possess therapeutic effects on hematological parameters. However, these effects have not been subjected to systematic studies to substantiate the therapeutic claims made regarding their clinical utility. This study was designed to investigate the hematological effects of V. lasiopus (O. Hoffman) in normal mice. The experimental groups were treated with leaf extracts at concentration of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg orally once per two days for a period of fourteen days. Hematological parameters and indices were determined from unclotted blood samples using standard protocols. Presence of various types of phytochemicals was assessed using standard procedures. The leaf extract of V. lasiopus (O. Hoffman) induced changes in erythrocytes and related parameter profiles, total and differential WBC counts, platelets and their related parameters in normal mice at the two tested dose levels of 50 mg/kgbw and 100 mg/kgbw. Further, the phytochemical screening results showed that the leaf extract of V. lasiopus (O. Hoffman) have phytochemicals associated with erythropoietin promoting activity, immunostimulatory activities and thrombopoietin stimulation.
Highlights
Blood is a specialized body fluid that delivers necessary substances to the cells such as nutrients and oxygen and transports waste products away from the cells [1]
The present study showed that methanolic leaf extracts of V. lasiopus
Hoffman) may be responsible for the haemopoietic stimulating effects. This is in line with previous research that showed that prophylactic and therapeutic oral administration of anti-oxidant supplements in plant extracts significantly increased cells of hemopoietic origin in animals exposed to potentially lethal dose of radiation [42]
Summary
Blood is a specialized body fluid that delivers necessary substances to the cells such as nutrients and oxygen and transports waste products away from the cells [1]. It accounts for 7% of human body weight with an average density of approximately 1060 kg/m3 and is composed of plasma and several kinds of cells which include erythrocytes, leucocytes and thrombocytes [2]. Leucocytes (white blood cells) are the main cells of the immune system that provide either innate or specific adaptive immunity They are of five different kinds; neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils and basophils. Leucocytes are further classified into lymphocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, and natural killer cells [4]
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