Hyptis suaveolens is widely used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of bleeding and wounds amongst a number of other ailments. This study investigated the haemostatic activities as well as the effects of Hyptis suaveolens on some haematological parameters in Wistar rats. Preliminary phytochemical, mineral and trace metal analyses, as well as toxicity studies were carried out on the plant extract. Twenty (20) adult female Wistar rats having an average weight of 152.4 g were divided into four (4) groups comprising five (5) animals per group. Group 1 served as the control and received no treatment. Group 2 received 100 mg/kg bodyweight of extract; Group 3 received 200 mg/kg bodyweight of extract while Group 4 received 400 mg/kg bodyweight of extract. All treatments were administered orally for 21 days. The clotting time (sec), bleeding time (sec), prothrombin time (sec), partial thromboplastin time (sec) and haematological indices of the animals were all investigated, and the results were analysed using one-way ANOVA. The extract significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) the clotting and bleeding times at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg doses of administration compared with control. The extract also significantly increased the red blood cell (RBC) and haemoglobin (Hb) levels at all doses of administration compared with the control. The prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times along with other haematological parameters investigated, showed no significant variations. The significant lowering (p ≤ 0.05) of the bleeding and clotting times of the animals that received 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg dose respectively of the extract compared with control, suggests that the aqueous extract of Hyptis suaveolens possesses haemostatic potentials.
Mokwenye Ifeoma, Ikewuchi Catherine Chidinma and Okoye Ngozi Franca
