Pharmacological studies of sodium alginate. IV. Erythrocyte aggregation by sodium alginate

Abstract

The hemolytic action of sodium alginate solution on human red blood cells (RBC), and the aggregations of human and rat RBC in the presence of sodium alginate were studied. The human RBC in sodium alginate solution did not indicate any morphological change of RBC. The hemoglobin was not detected in the supernatant of incubation medium. These results show that sodium alginate has no hemolytic action on human RBC. Human and rat RBC showed a marked aggregation by sodium alginate in the neutral medium. The rouleaux formations of RBC in various concentrations of sodium alginate having different molecular weights were examined. In addition, the concentration of sodium alginate required to induce a discernible aggregation of RBC was determined. Sodium alginates having larger molecular weights showed more pronounced activities for aggregation of RBC as compared with those having smaller molecular weights, and the aggregation of RBC increased with an increase in the concentration of sodium alginate. The aggregation of RBC in sodium alginate solution was inhibited by urea, suggesting that the aggregation of RBC is mainly caused by hydrogen bonding. The rouleaux of RBC covered with fibrin net was observed in the coagulation cruor by means of scanning electron microscopy, when sodium alginate was added to human or rat blood.