HAEMATOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF NORMAL RABBITS TREATED WITH AQUEOUS STEM BARK EXTRACTS OF IRVINGIA GABONENSIS FOR TWENTY-FOUR WEEKS

The use of Irvingia gabonensis in the treatment of several ailments is documented. Our previous studies have established the long-term antiobesity, hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects of aqueous stem bark extracts in normal rabbits. This study was designed to evaluate the long term (24 weeks) effect of daily oral administration of aqueous bark extracts of I. gabonensis on haematological parameters, assessed at pre-determined intervals, of normal rabbits as part of the biochemical evaluation of the plant. Plant extract administration caused significant (p 0.05) increases in red blood cell (RBC) count, packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, as well as platelet count. The mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) of I. gabonensis treated rabbits were mostly similar to control throughout the period of monitoring. White blood cell (WBC), and differential counts were largely unaffected by medicinal plant administration. This study revealed that long-term treatment of rabbits with I. gabonensis bark extracts improved haematopoietic system of rabbits and did not negatively affect their immune system