EFFECT OF AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT OF TRIDAX PROCUMBENS ON BLOOD COAGULATION

The effect of aqueous leaf extract of Tridax procumbens on blood coagulation was investigated in order to verify the claim that the said extract can be used to manage bleeding. This was done by examining the effect of the extract on bleeding time, the effect of graded amounts of the extract on clotting time as well as the effect of the heat-treated extract on bleeding time. These were performed using the Duke method, the Lee and white method and an adaptation of the Duke method to the heated extract respectively. In the bleeding time experiment, the mean bleeding time without adding the extract (control) was found to be 2.49 + 0.02 minutes and the mean bleeding time upon addition of the extract was 1.40 + 0.16 minutes thus achieving a 57% decrease in normal bleeding time. When graded amounts of the extract was used for the clotting time experiment and the result analysed by a correlation analysis, the correlation coefficient (r) was -0.99, indicating the existence of an almost perfect negative linear relationship between both variables. Thus it was found that the extract promotes blood coagulation. Also, the extract was found to retain its activity even after heating, thus suggesting that the active principle may be an inorganic molecule acting as a prothrombin activator in the clotting cascade, and not a protein.