Phytonutrients, Acute Toxicity and the Effect of Dichloromethane-Methanol Extract of Cymbopogon citratus (DC. ex Nees) Stapf (Poaceae) on Selected Haematological Parameters in Normal Healthy Albino Rats.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the Dichloromethane-Methanol (DCM-MeOH) extract of Cymbopogon citratus on selected haematological parameters and to identify the phytochemical components present in the extract. The (DCM-MeOH) extract of the plant was obtained by 72 h cold maceration and was subjected to haematological screening. Four groups of rats were used; group 1 served as normal control which received distilled water, groups 2, 3, and 4 received daily administration of (DCM-MeOH) extract of C. citratus (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) for 21 days per oral. Haematological analyses were performed weekly for the red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), packed cell volume (PCV), and haemoglobin concentration (HB) with an absolute count of differential leucocyte were determined. The acute toxicity study on the extract did not produce any lethality up to 5000 mg/kg in mice. The result of the study showed a significant (P < 0.05) effect to varying degrees in the weight and haemoglobin while the RBC, PCV, differential leucocyte count (DLC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) did not have significant (P > 0.05) effect as compared with the normal control group and baseline values. The qualitative phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, steroids and reducing sugars while protein, carbohydrate, fat and oil, glycosides and saponins were absent in the extract. However, quantitative phytochemical studies showed that the extract contained alkaloids (465.83 mg/100g), flavonoids (119.00 mg/100g), tannins (16.25 mg/100g), terpenoids (203.36), total phenols (1897.58). The findings from this study showed that DCM-MeOH extract of C. citratus does not have any significant effect on most haematological parameters in normal healthy albino rats.