ISSN 2756-3375
African Journal of Immunology Research ISSN 2756-3375 Vol. 10 (2), pp. 001-009, February, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Impact of Total Crude Extracts from Hibiscus sabdariffa on Immune Function in Wistar Albino Rats
Aloysius M.B. Lubega1, Godfrey S. Bbosa1*, Nathan Musisi2, Joseph Erume2 and Jasper Ogwal-Okeng1
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
2Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Makerere University College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security, Kampala, Uganda.
Accepted 20 May, 2023
Abstract
Medicinal herbs are commonly used worldwide as immune boosters and immunomodulators in the management of various disease conditions. Many of these herbs commonly used have not been scientifically evaluated for their immune modulating activities. The study investigated the immunomodulatory activity of the total crude leaf extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa in Wistar albino rats. It was an experimental study that was conducted on four groups of animals each with 6 healthy adult rats. Group I was dosed each with 1mL of normal saline. Groups II, III and IV were dosed 1mL of 125, 250 and 500 mg/Kg bwt of total crude extract, daily for 14 days respectively. On the 15th day, whole blood was collected into a clean ethlenediaminetetracetic acid (EDTA)-vacutainer. The complete blood count (CBC), immune blood cell count, hemagglutination antibody (HA) titers, neutrophil adhesion and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response were determined. All the doses caused an increase in mean red blood cell (RBC) counts as compared to control group. Similarly, the mean percentage neutrophils, monocytes, basophils and eosinophils increased with dose while the opposite was true for percentage lymphocytes. The mean HA titers for the herb were higher than control though no statistical difference (p≥0.05) was observed. Similar effects were observed with neutrophil adhesions response as that of HA titers. For DTH, the highest footpad thickness (175.2% increment) was observed at a dose of 500 mg/Kg bwt after 12 h and was statistically significant (p≤0.05) as compared to control. H. sabdariffa contain compounds with immunomodulatory activity in Wistar albino rats.
Key words: Immunomodulation, Hibiscus sabdariffa, total crude extracts.