Comparative Haematological and Hepatobiochemical Effects of Chrysophyllum albidum Fruit Pulp and Root Extract in Male Wistar Rats

Background: Chrysophyllum albidum has been widely used for its nutritional and ethnomedicinal properties, however, no comparative study has been conducted on the haematological and hepatobiochemical effect of the fruit pulp and root extract of the plant. They were tested in male Wistar rats in this study. Methods: Ethanol was used for extraction of both fruit pulp and root on solid-to-solvent ratio of 300g per 1 liter for 48 hours at room temperature. A total of 60 13-week-old male Wistar rats were acclimatised for 14 days under 12 hours light/dark cycle and randomly distributed into control, fruit pulp extract 400 mg/kg, root extract 400 mg/kg, fruit pulp 800 mg/kg, root extract 800 mg/kg and Proviron 15 mg/kg groups of 10 animals each. Oral treatments were by gavage for 40 days. Automated haematology analysis was used for haematological parameters and standard laboratory methods used for the determination of serum total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase. One-way analysis of variance was used for data analysis, and at the significance level of p<0. 05. Results: The results showed that both extracts elevated the RBC count, PCV and Hb concentration. The highest values occurred in the 800 mg/kg root extract group: 9.60 ± 0.04 × 10¹²/L, 61.44 ± 0.26% and 15.86 ± 0.14 g/dL, respectively. There was a large reduction in white blood cell and platelet counts compared to the control group in all treated groups. There was an increase in serum total protein with no change in aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase. Alanine aminotransferase was significantly reduced in both the extracts at 400 mg/kg. Conclusion: The ethanolic fruit pulp and root extracts showed some changes in selected haematological and serum biochemical markers with the highest effect on erythrocytic markers being seen in the 800 mg/kg root extract. But these results do not definitely prove the hepatoprotective effect and the long term safety.