Background: Telfairia occidentalis is among the most popular vegetable crops propagated in the West African rainforest zone for its green leafy vegetable and ellipsoidal fruit, which are highly nutritious. This study investigated the liver's synthetic ability and hematological profile potential of T. occidentalis against carbon tetrachloride-induced toxicity in Wistar rats.
Methods: Five experimental groups of rats were used in this study. One group received distilled water and served as the normal control. The second group received carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) alone for four days. The third and fourth groups received CCl4 for four days prior to treatment with 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg T. occidentalis aqueous extract for six days, respectively. The last group received CCl4 for four days prior to treatment with silymarin (100 mg/kg) for six days. With the exception of normal control rats, all rats received a mixture of freshly prepared CCl4 in olive oil (1 ml/kg, 1:1 intraperitoneally) for four days. The activities of liver synthetic molecules, such as total protein, albumin, and total bilirubin, as well as hematological parameters, were measured in the blood.
Results: CCl4 exposure and toxicity caused a significant (P < 0.05) increase in total bilirubin and white blood cells and a significant decrease in total protein, albumin, hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells, and platelets. However, treatment with T. occidentalis aqueous extract significantly (P < 0.05) ameliorated the levels of these markers toward normal values.
Conclusion: T. occidentalis aqueous extract exhibited enhancement of liver synthetic ability and hematological profile in CCl4-induced toxicity.
