ABSTRACT
Anemia is described as a reduction in the proportion of the red blood cells. Anemia is not a diagnosis, but a presentation of an underlying condition. Whether or not a patient becomes symptomatic depends on the etiology of anemia, the acuity of onset, and the presence of other comorbidities, especially the presence of cardiovascular disease. Most patients experience some symptoms related to anemia when the hemoglobin drops below 7.0 g/dL. Erythropoietin (EPO), which is secreted by the kidney, is the major stimulator of red blood cell (RBC) production. Tissue hypoxia is the major stimulator of EPO production, and levels of EPO are generally inversely proportional to the hemoglobin concentration. In other words, an individual who is anemic with low hemoglobin has elevated levels of EPO. However, levels of EPO are lower than expected in anemic patients with renal failure. In anemia of chronic disease (AOCD), EPO levels are generally elevated, but not as high as they should be, demonstrating a relative deficiency of EPO. Normal Hemoglobin (Hgb)-specific laboratory cut-offs will differ slightly, but in general, the normal ranges are as follows: 13.5 to 18.0 g/dL in men. 12.0 to 15.0 g/dL in women. 11.0 to 16.0 g/dL in children. It Varies in pregnancy depending on the trimester, but generally greater than 10.0 g/dL. In this study, anemia was induced in young Wistar rats weighing 80-100g via the protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) model by feeding them with low protein diet for six weeks. After induction, the rats were treated with two different doses (100 and 250mg/Kg bw) of methanol extract of Melastomastrum capitatum (MCAP) leaves and a reference multivitamin drug, MIM for four weeks. Twenty-five rats were used for this study, divided into five groups with five animals each. The groups were the normal control group, the PEM control, PEM + MIM, PEM + MCAP 100mg/Kg bw and pem + MCAP 250mg/Kg bw groups. At the end of the animal study, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were taken for haematological and biochemical analyses. The full blood count, comprising of haematocrit/packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (HGB), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC) and platelets count (PLT) was done with an automated haematology counter. Moreover, liver function tests, comprising of total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB) concentrations, serum activity levels of the liver enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). There were significant increases in the PCV, HGB and RBC count values for the extract-treated groups compared to their untreated anemic counterparts. Similar trend was observed in the serum levels of TPand ALB, whereas, there was significant decrease in the serum concentration of bilirubin in extract-treated rats compared to the PEM group rats. Conclusively, this study showed that methanol extract of Melastomastrum capitatum leaves has a great potential in reversing anemia induced by malnutrition, possibly due to its rich content of proteins, vitamins, minerals and beneficial phytochemicals.
