Effects of Aqueous Root Bark Extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC) Guill & Perr and Terminalia avicennioides Guill & Perr on Redox and Haematological Parameters of Diethylnitrosamine-Administered Rats

Background: This study investigated the protective effects of aqueous extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC) Guill & Perr (Combretaceae) and Terminalia avicennioides Guill & Perr (Combretaceae) root barks, as well as their 1:1 (w/w) mixture on liver redox and haematological parameters of diethylnitrosamine-treated rats. Methods: Rats were orally administered distilled water, diethylnitrosamine (30 mg/kg body weight once a week on weeks 3 and 4), curcumin (200 mg/kg body weight), extracts and 1:1 mixture (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight) for 4 weeks. Malondialdehyde, markers of oxidative stress and hematological indices were evaluated. Results: The extracts and their mixture significantly (P<0.05) reversed the diethylnitrosamine-induced alterations in the levels of liver malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione, vitamin C and platelet counts. The other haematological parameters (red blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count, lymphocyte count and neutrophil count) were not affected by diethylnitrosamine and extracts. Conclusion: The extracts possess antioxidant, hepatoprotective and haemoprotective activities that compared well with curcumin. These activities were better exhibited by the mixture than the individual extracts.