HAEMATIC AND HEPATROPROTECTIVE POTENTIALS OF HYPOESTES TRIFLORA AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT IN GUINEA-PIGS

Local traditional healers in the Great Lakes Region used to administer Hypoestes triflora (Roem) leaf decoctions to treat patients with anemia and liver diseases, and also to boost immunity in HIV patients. This study was designed to evaluate, in guinea-pigs, the antianemic and hepatoprotective potentials of this plant. Anemia was induced with phenylhydrazine hydrochloride and hepatotoxicity with paracetamol. Animals were divided into normal (N), control (C), test (T), and reference (R) groups. T group included ill-induced animals treated with H. triflora aqueous extracts and R ill-induced animals treated with an Iron solution for anemic animals or silymarin for hepatitis animals. Dosing was made as 1-day single dose or 7-days repeated dose. In anemic animals, the production rate of RBC was significantly (p<0.001) higher in the T group as compared to the C group. In paracetamol-induced hepatitis animals, the plant extract exhibited about 80-90% protective effect in T group as compared to the C group. The effects were comparable to or higher than R responses. H. triflora leaf extracts have both haematic and hepatoprotective potentials lending credence to its use by traditional healers to manage anemia, and hepatic disorders. The antianemic effect may support in part its use in HIV patients mostly affected in blood components deficiency.