Effect Of Aqueous Leaf Extract Of Mangifera Indica On Differential White Blood Cell Count

The traditional use of plant as herbs for medicinal purposes has been a practise as old as man. In spite of the evolution of modern medicine, and the ground-breaking successes in drug development and therapy, the use of herbs is still a common practise in many parts of the world today. This is even more so in developing countries, where a significant portion of the population still depend on herbal medicine for their primary health care (Ekpe et al., 1990). About eighty percent (80%) of the world population is believed to still practise herbal medicine (Hoareau and Da Silva, 1999). Traditional beliefs (Bannerman et al., 1975) and poverty continue to make many people in Nigeria and most other parts of Africa depend largely on herbs for therapy, as the cost of modern therapeutic measures is still beyond the reach of many. Mangifera indica is a large tree belonging to the family anarcardiaceae, and found in tropic and subtropic regions of the world. (Ross, 1999; Puravankara et al., 2000). It is commonly known as mango and is grown widely in Nigeria. Some documented effects of extracts of this plant includes; immunomodulation (Makare et al., 2001), anti-allergic (Riviera et al., 2006) and anti-microbial (Zhu et al., 1993; Guha et al., 1996). It is also used in the treatment of malaria, jaundice, cough, asthma, diarrhoea (Agoha, 1981, Madunagu et al., 1990) and typhoid (Faleyimu et al., 2010). Mangifera indica contains vital phytochemicals that confers its pharmacologic importance (Anjaneyulu et al., 1989; ElMahmood, 2009). Studies have revealed the extract of this plant to increase red blood cell count, packed cell volume and white blood cell count (Nwinuka et al., 2008; Ogbe et al., 2012). Reports on the effect of the extract on different components of the white blood cell are conflicting. This study thus hopes to establish clarity on these conflicting accounts. Also, results leaf extracts of Mangifera indica will be used to compare with those from stem bark of the plant.