Vol. 1, Issue 1, Part A (2019)

Background and objectives: The indigenous medicinal plants in Sudan form an important component of the natural wealth of the country. Most of these plants have been used indiscriminately by many local populations for managing various diseases without actually knowing how relief is brought about or its safety/toxicity risks. The effect of oral administration of Blepharis linariifolia ethanolic extract alone and/or co-administered with aluminium chloride at different doses on haematological profile in white albino rats was investigated in this study. Materials and Methods: The animals were divided into five groups of five animals each. Group A: Control, Group B, C were administered orally by AlCl₃ alone (0.5 mg/Kg BW), plant extract (400 mg/ml), plant extract (200 mg/ml), respectively, throughout the experiment which continued for consecutive 14 days and 28 days Group E was administered with plant extract (400 mg/ml) concurrently with AlCl3 for consecutive 14 days and 28 days. The blood parameters measured were: White Blood Cells count (WBCs), Red Blood Cells count (RBCs), Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), Haemocrit value (HCT), Mean Cell Volume (MCV), Mean Cell Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Platelets (PLT) and Lymphocytes (LYM). Results: Treatment of rats (B group) with AlCl₃ after 14 days caused significant difference at P<0.05 and P<0.01 in total RBC count, Hb, HCT and MCV. Whereas after 28 days caused a significant difference in WBC and MCV. Treatment of rats (C group) with 400 mg/ml/Kg BW of plant extract after 14 and 28 days caused significant difference at P<0.05 in the WBC count and Hb values relative to their respective control. Administration of rats ( D group) with 200 mg/ml of plant extract plus AlCl₃ did not produce any significant change (P<0.05) on the RBC and factors relating to it (Hb,HCT,MCV,MCH and MCHC) on 14 days. Interestingly, administration of the plant extract 200 mg/ml plus AlCl₃ produced significant alterations only in the platelets. Administration of 200 mg/ml plant extract plus AlCl3 for 28 days produce significant change (P<0.05) on the RBC, Hb and HCT.There was no significant difference (P<0.05 and P<0.01) after treatment with 400mg/ml extract plus AlCl₃ for 14 days between the two control group and the treated (E group) for RBC, Hb, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC and LYM, and at P<0.01 for WBC. The PLT values were significantly different at P<0.05 and P<0.01 between the control and treated group after 14 and 28 days. Conclusion: uptake of ethanolic extract of B. linariifolia alone or co-administered with AlCl₃ had mitigated aluminum chloride – induce anemia and raised the values of blood indices of anemia, almost, to their normal levels.