Methanolic crude leaf extract of Ocimum gratissimum reverses phenylhydrazine-induced anemia in albino wistar rats

Abstract

Background: The therapeutic and culinary applications of Ocimum gratissimum leaf have been practiced in Central and West Africa for decades. This study was designed and conducted to investigate the haematinic and haemopoietic activities of phenylhydrazine-induced anaemia in Albino wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four (24) Albino wistar rats were grouped into four (A, B, C and D) with six rats per cage. Groups B, C and D served as the test groups, while group A was the control. The test groups were gavaged with graded doses (4, 8 and 12mg/kg body weight respectively) of Ocimum gratissimum methanolic crude leaf extract once daily for 9 days. Two (2) mls of venous blood was collected from the ocular plexus from each animal into tripotassium ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid anticoagulant bottle. This was used to determine complete blood count using automated haematology autoanalyzer (Sysmex KX-21N). Results: Red blood cell (RBC) mean value recorded a dose and duration-related statistically significant decrease (P < 0.05) in group D on day 3. However, there was statistically significant increase (P < 0.05) in the RBC indices. In addition, total white blood cell (WBC) recorded a marginal increase in the mean values throughout the study period though not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Furthermore, lymphocyte recorded both dose and duration-related statistically significant increase (P < 0.01). Conclusion: From the result of this study, it can be concluded that the methanolic crude leaf extract of Ocimum gratissimum possesses both haemopoetic and haematinic potentials which are dose and duration-related.