Antihaemolytic Effect of Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Vernonia amygdalina in Wistar Rats

6 PAGES (3417 WORDS) Biochemistry Article/Essay

Antihaemolytic effect of ethanolic leaf extract of
Vernonia amygdalina in Wistar rats is the aim of this
study. Fresh plants of
V. amygdalina were harvested
from the Institute of Agricultural Research and
Training, Ibadan. The leaves were carefully removed
from the stem and washed in running water to
remove contaminants. They were air dried at room
temperature in an open laboratory space for 14 days
and milled into powder. The extraction was done
using soxhlet apparatus and ethanol as the solvent.
Ethanol was evaporated in a rotary evaporator at
35
oC with a yield of 2.07g which represents a
percentage yield of 8.28%. Ten adult male Wistar
rats were used for this study. They were randomly
divided into two groups of five rats each. Animals in
group 1 were administered saline solution; those in
group 2 were administered
V. amygdalina leaf
extract. At the end of twenty-eight days treatment,
animals were fasted overnight and blood was
collected by cardiac puncture into heparinized
bottles. A significant decrease was observed in the
erythrocyte parameters, a significant increase was
observed in white blood cell and lymphocyte but no
significant difference in platelets when control
animals were compared with those treated with leaf
extract of
V. amygdalina at p