BIOCHEMICAL, HEMATOLOGICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO GRADED DOSE OF EXTRACT OF EQUISETUM ARVENSE IN ADULT FEMALE WISTAR RATS

Equisetum arvense, commonly known as field horsetail, is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Equisetum. Traditionally, Equisetum arvense is used as diuretic; anticoagulant, skin antiseptic, in kidney and liver related problems and gastric ulcers. E. arvense has also been suggested for the treatment of bone related disorders such as osteoporosis but the data is very scarce on its dose range and its influence on basic biochemical parameters. The present study was carried out to study its effect in female wistar rats at three levels of dose: L (30 mg/ kg of body weight), M (60 mg/ kg of body weight) and H (120 mg/ kg of body weight) for a period of 30 days. We report here complete blood count, LFT, KFT, blood glucose, total protein, and albumin and lipid profile. No toxic effects were observed in reference to clinical signs, body weight and organ weight. HBG, HCT, MCV, PLT, glucose and serum cholesterol, HDL and LDL level at H dose was found significantly different to Control group. Histology of liver tissue of all the three groups showed normal cellular architecture with prominent central vein compared. Histological examination of femur bone showed decreased trabecular width suggesting the toxic effect of extract at H dose. Thus from the study it can be concluded that E. arvense produces toxic effect in a dose dependant manner and that M dose of E. arvense (60 mg/ kg body weight) can be used as a therapeutic dose for further studies.