Mitigation of Arsenic-induced Increases in Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines and Haematological Derangements by Ethanol Leaf Extract of Irvingia gabonensis

Aim: To investigate the effect of ethanol leaf extract of Irvingia gabonensis (ELEIG) on sodium arsenite (SA)-induced hepatic pro-inflammatory cytokines and haematological derangements in Wistar rats.

Study Design: Fifty five Wistar rats weighing between 100 g and 161 g were randomly distributed to eleven (11) groups (n=5). Group 1 (control) had feed and water only. Group 2 received SA at a dose of 4.1 mg/kg body weight (kgbw) for 14 days. Groups 3-11 received ELEIG with or without SA.

Place and Duration of Study: Biochemistry Department, University of Uyo and Biochemistry Department, University of Benin. The duration of the study was 14 days.

Methodology: Treatment was done orally for 14 days. Immunological markers: tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and haematological indices: red blood cell (RBC) count, haemoglobin (HB) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), white blood cell (WBC) count and its differentials and platelet (PLT) count were used to determine the immunomodulatory and haematological effects of the extract.

Results: Intoxication with SA caused significant (p ˂ 0.05) increases in hepatic TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-4 levels and a significant decrease in hepatic IL-10 level, relative to control. The SA treatment also caused significant (p ˂ 0.05) decreases in RBC, HB, PCV MCH, MCHC, MCV, PLT and monocyte counts as well as significant (p ˂ 0.05) increases in WBC, lymphocyte, basophil, eosinophil and neutrophil counts, relative to control. However, post-treatment and concomitant treatment with ELEIG ameliorated the noxious effect of SA. In addition, ELEIG alone at various doses produced results with most of the assayed parameters having values comparable with those control.

Conclusion: These results indicate that ELEIG mitigates SA-induced inflammation and haematological perturbations in Wistar rats.