Vol. 3, Issue 1, Part A (2021)

This study was designed to assess the effect of Dacryodes edulis stem bark and seed on haematological parameters of Wistar rats. The stem bark and seeds of D. edulis were locally sourced from the same tree D. edulis in Ologbo area, Edo State, Nigeria. Acute toxicity was determined using Lorke’s method. In the main study, 80 Wistar rats were divided into 16 groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 served as control. Groups 2, 3 and 4 were administered 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of D. edulis stem bark respectively while groups 5, 6 and 7 were administered 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw of methanol extract of D. edulis stem bark respectively. Animals in Group 8 served as control for the seed extracts treatment. Groups 9, 10, 11 and 12 were administered 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of D. edulis seed respectively while groups 13, 14, 15 and 16 were administered 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw of methanol extract of D. edulis seed respectively via oral route for 28 days. At the end of the 28 day, animals were sacrificed and blood was collected via cardiac puncture. The acute toxicity study of D. edulis showed that the LD₅₀ of the extracts used is greater than 5000 mg/kg as no mortality was recorded at this dose except for a decline in the normal activity of the animals administered 5000 mg/kg dose. Administration of 1000 mg/kg and below of aqueous and methanol extracts of D. edulis stem bark and seed was observed to have no significant effect on the parameters determined when compared with those in the control animals. However, administration of 2000 mg/kg of aqueous and methanol extracts of D. edulis stem bark and seed significantly (p<0.05) reduced haematological parameters when respectively compared with those in the control animals. The results of this study showed that extracts of D. edulis stem bark and seed at high dose possess hemolytic activities and could lead to the destruction of the immune system.