Thesis Abstract

Jatropha tanjorensis is a natural medicinal herb which has been used over the years in the treatment of many health disorders. This study was carried out to determine the effects of ethanolic root extract of Jatropha tanjorensis on haematological indices of female albino wistar rats. Twenty (20) albino wistar rats weighing between 151-225 g were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals per group based on body weight. Group 1 served as the control and was fed with distilled water and normal rat feed. Group 2 was treated with 100mg of extract per kg body weight. Group 3 was administered with 250mg of extract per kg body weight while group 4 received 500mg of extract per kg body weight for 14 days. The haematological indices analysed include Red blood cells (RBC), White blood cells (WBC), Haemoglobin (HGB), Haematocrit (HCT), Mean cell volume (MCV), Mean cell Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), Platelets count (PLT), Lymphocytes (LYM) and Neutrophil count. Result obtained showed that the extract caused an increase in White blood cell (WBC) count (12.28  1.32, 14.79  4.20, 16.80  1.20 for groups 2, 3 and 4 respectively), Red blood cell (RBC) count (7.65  0.22, 8.76  0.47, 9.29  0.48 for groups 2, 3 and 4 respectively) and Haemoglobin (HGB) count (15.34  0.54, 16.01  1.27, 17.01  1.49 for groups 2, 3 and 4 respectively). There were also significant (P  0.05) increase in the values of Haematocrit, Mean cell volume, Platelet count and Lymphocyte. The values of MCH and MCHC in group 2 were not significantly (P  0.05) different from the control while that of groups 3 and 4 were significantly (P  0.05) higher.  For NEUT, groups 2 and 3 were not significantly (P  0.05) different from the control while group 4 was significantly (P  0.05) higher. The extract is said to boost the immune system of the treated animals and could prevent other opportunistic diseases associated with decreased immunity. Based on these findings, roots of J. tanjorensis may be important in the treatment and management of anaemia since they have positive effect on red blood cells (RBC) and haematocrit counts.

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