Hematological Changes Following Oral Administration of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Ficus capensis in Albino Rats

Objective: This work was carried out to investigate the effects of oral administration of aqueous leaf extract of Ficus capensis on some hematological parameters in albino rats.

Methodology: Twenty-eight normal male rats weighing between 180-240 g were used for this study. They were randomly grouped into four groups, A- D of seven rats each. Group A was the control group and received distilled water only, while groups B, C and D were administered 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of F. capensis leaves respectively via oral gavage for 28 days. Blood sample was collected from each animal by cardiac puncture using sterile needle into an ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) bottle for determination of RBC, WBC, PCV and Hb.

Results: There was a significant (p<0.05) increase in RBC count in groups C (7.55±0.19 x106) and D (8.39±0.21 x106), when compared to the control (6.44±0.08 x106). There was significant (p<0.05) increase in WBC count in group D (13.43 ± 0.50 x103) when compared to control group (9.47±0.97 x103). Groups C (45.43±1.31%) and D (50.14±1.94%) showed significant (p<0.05) increase in PCV when compared to control group (35.57±0.78%). There was a significant (p<0.05) increase in Hb concentration in groups C (15.21±0.41 g/dl) and D (16.71±0.67 g/dl) when compared to control group (11.89±0.26 g/dl).

Conclusion: The present findings validated the claim that the leaf extract of F. capensis is useful in treating anemia.