Immunological and hematological effects of Irvingia gabonensis stem bark in sodium arsenite-exposed rats

Efosa Godwin Ewere 1, 2, *, Ngozi Paulinus Okolie 2, Jessie Idongesit Ndem 1 and Samson Adewale Oyebadejo 3

1 Department of Biochemistry, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria.
2 Department of Biochemistry, University of Benin, Nigeria.
3 Department of Anatomy, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria.
 
Research Article
GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2021, 15(01), 027-037.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2021.15.1.0089
Publication history: 
Received on 25 February 2021; revised on 29 March 2021; accepted on 01 April 2021
 
Abstract: 
This study investigated the effect of ethanol stem bark extract of Irvingia gabonensis (ESEIG) on sodium arsenite (SA)-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and hematological perturbations in Wistar rats. Fifty-five Wistar rats weighing 100 g - 179 g were distributed into eleven groups (n=5). Group 1 had feed and water only. Group 2 received 4.1 mg/kg body weight (kgbw) of SA. Groups 3-11 received SA and/or ESEIG. Treatment was done orally for 14 days. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-4 (IL-4) concentrations, hemoglobin (HB) concentration, red blood cell (RBC) count, packed cell volume (PCV), mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), white blood cell (WBC) count and its differentials and platelet (PLT) count were used to investigate the immunological and hematological effects of ESEIG. Exposure to SA produced significant (p ˂ 0.05) increases in hepatic IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-4 concentrations relative to control. Administration of SA also caused significant (p ˂ 0.05) decreases in HB, RBC, PCV, MCHC, MCH, MCV and PLT and significant (p ˂ 0.05) increases in WBC, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and neutrophils compared with control. Treatment with ESEIG concomitantly and 2 weeks after SA exposure, mitigated the deleterious effect of SA. However, ESEIG alone at various doses caused significant (p ˂ 0.05) increases in some of the assayed parameters, compared with control. These results imply that ESEIG may be protective against SA-induced inflammation and hematological derangements in Wistar rats. Its exclusive administration on chronic basis may also be slightly toxic. 
 
Keywords: 
Arsenic; Sodium arsenite; Irvingia gabonensis; Cytokines; Hematological derangements; Environmental pollutant
 
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