Abstract

Tetrapleura tetraptera locally known in the South-Western part of Nigeria as “Aridan” hasan age long medicinal significance as a molluscidal and an antimicrobial agent. The plant is also known for its anti- inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects. This study was carried out to evaluate the therapeutic effect of T. tetraptera saponins on hematological profileof streptozotocin induced diabetic Wistar rats. A total of 28 Wistar rats with four groups each containing 7 rats were used. Group 1 was the normal control, the other groups (2, 3 & 4) were induced with diabetes using streptozotocin. Group 2 was used as the diabetic control, the other groups of (3&4) were administered metformin and 10mg TTS respectively for 12 consecutive weeks. The animals were sacrificed by decapitation and blood was collected for hematological analysis. The red blood cell count (RBC), red blood cell distribution weight standard deviation (RBC-SD), red blood cell distribution weight cell volume (RBC-CV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were not statistically different among all groups. However there was a non-significant (p>0.05) increase in the red blood cells, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels of the TTS treated diabetic rats compared to the diabetic untreated rats The white blood cells, lymphocytes, percentage of granulocytes and mid-range count also showed no significant difference (p>0.05) among the groups. Although, there was a non-significant (p>0.05) decrease in the whiteblood cells of the TTS treated diabetic rats compared to the diabetic untreated ratsPlatelet count (PLT), mean platelets volume (MPV),platelets distribution width (PDW), Platetocrit (PCT) and platelets large cell ratio (P-LCR) were not significantly different among all groups The results of this study showed that administration of 20mg/kg body weight of Tetraptera tetrapterasaponins had little or slight effect on the hematological parameters of diabetic rats.