Haematological Profile of Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats Treated with Methanol Root Bark Extract of Cussonia arborea

The study was tailored to investigate changes in all haematological parameters of diabetic rats treated with methanol root bark extract of Cussonia arborea. A total of 72 male albino wistar rats assigned into 6 groups of 12 rats per group were used. Groups 1-5 were made diabetic by single intraperitoneal administration of alloxan monohydrate at the dose of 160 mg/kg while group 6 rats were not made diabetic. Diabetes was established by determination of fasting blood sugar above 126 mg/dl after which the rats in groups 1-4 were treated with 62.5, 125, 250 mg/kg of the extract and 2 mg/kg glibenclamide respectively while groups 5 and 6 rats received 10 ml/kg distilled water each to serve as negative and positive controls respectively. All treatments were through the oral route daily for 84 days. Red blood cell (RBC),white blood cell (WBC), differential white blood cell counts, packed cell volume (PCV) haemoglobin (Hb), total, conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin values were determined on days 28, 56 and 84 post treatment while mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were calculated. The results indicate that administration of 125 mg/kg bw of the extract to the diabetic rats, significantly (p<0.05) increased RBC, PCV, Hb, MCV and conjugated bilirubin levels and significantly (p<0.05) decreased, total bilirubin and unconjugated bilirubin values when compared to the diabetic untreated group. There were no significant changes in the total white blood cell counts across the groups. It was therefore concluded that treatment of diabetic rats with methanol root bark extract of C. arborea at 125 mg/kg improved red blood cell values with no adverse effects on white blood cell parameters.