Effect of aqueous Methanolic extract of Senna alata and Senna podocarpa on some hematological parameters in rats

Senna alata and Senna podocarpa are widely used herbals by the southwestern populace in Nigeria to treat various kinds of diseases, so the long term (63 days) effect of the leaf aqueous Methanolic extract of these plants on some hematological parameters were investigated in albino rats given a daily dose of 1ml by gavage, of 0‐, 200‐, 600‐ and 1000‐mg/kg body weight of extract, to assess its safety. At the termination of the experiment, blood was collected via ocular puncture and the effect of the extract on packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC), platelets and the differential white blood cells count were evaluated. S.alata at 200‐, 600‐, 1000‐ and S.podocarpa at 200‐ mg/kg body weight significantly increased (P=0.003; 0.001; 0.004 and 0.01 respectively) the PCV levels over that of the control. The results suggests that these extracts may contain substance(s) that improves erythropoiesis and thus reduce anemia in rats.