ABSTRACT

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a tough plant of the amaryllis family. It is a toughly, pungent bulb and is used in cookery and medicine. It is of great medical importance and this is achieved when directly consume or it is use to prepare food. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of garlic on bleeding time in wistar rats. The bulbs of garlic were bought from Uselu market, Benin City, Edo State, and were identified by a plant taxonomist in the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology. The plant was washed and weighed and mashed to paste level, using pestle and mortar. The paste was macerated with distil water of 900ml in a jar for 24hours with constant shaking and stirring, then filtration was done to separate the residue from the filtrate using conical flask, funnel and filter paper. The filtrate was then concentrated to paste level using water bath. The crude extract was preserved in a bottle, kept in a refrigerator. A total of Twenty (20) Wistar rats weighing between 150g – 200g were procured from the animal house of the Department of Anatomy, University of Benin and used for the study. They were divided into four (4) groups of five (5) rats per group. Group 1 (control group) (n = 5) were allowed free access to a standard diet for 30 days. Group 2 (n = 5) were treated with Low dose group 500mg/kg bw of garlic extract) for 30 days. Group 3 (n = 5) were treated with Moderate dose (1000mg/kg bw of garlic extract) for 30 days. Group 4 (n = 5) were treated with High dose (1500mg/kg bw of garlic extract) for 30 days. Bleeding time test was done by cleaning the tail with methylated spirit and cotton wool, it was then punctured and the time was recorded using a stop clock till bleeding ceased. The result of the experiment showed that the moderate dose group and the high dose group showed statistically significant increase in the bleeding time while the low dose group was increased but not statistically significant. In conclusion, this study reveals that garlic can cause increase in bleeding time which may be due to inhibitory effect in platelet activities.