2021, Vol. 9, Issue 4, Part B

author(s)
N'dia Kouadio Frédéric, Gnangoran Boua Narcisse, Goze Nomane Bernard and Yapo Angoué Paul

abstract
Blighia unijugata is a very widespread forest species in tropical Africa. It is usually used to treat various pathologies including hypertension. This study aims at evaluating the safety use of butanolic fraction of Blighia unijugata leaves (BuF) on some haematological parameters, body weight and relative organ weights in Wistar rats. Twenty-four adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups of six rats each. The control group was repeatedly administered by oral route with distilled water at 10 mL/kg bw for 28 days while test groups 2, 3 and 4 were repeatedly gavaged with BuF extract at 50, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw respectively. Blood withdrawls were performed at days 7, 14, 21 and 28 using EDTA tubes by ocular puncture from fasted rats previously anesthetized with ether in order to assess BuF extract influence on some haematological parameters. At the end of the twenty-eight days of treatment, rats were weighed and sacrificed. Kidneys, liver, spleen and heart were removed and their relative organ weights were determined. The results showed that BuF extract induced a non-significant decrease (P>0.05) in some haematological parameters such as erythrocytes, haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), leucocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, granulocytes and significant (P<0.05) in hematocrit and thrombocytes in the treated rats compared to the control group. However, no significant changes (P>0.05) were observed in body weight and the relative organ weights such as heart, liver, kidneys and spleen during this study. This study indicates that butanolic fraction of Blighia unijugata leaves(BuF) administered to rats decreases hematocrit and thrombocyte levels at 50, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw and is safe for other hematological parameters and body weight in rats.