EFFECT OF AZADIRACHTA INDICA (NEEM) SEEDS AND LEAVES EXTRACT ON THE HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF ALBINO RATS

¹Hillary ChifunanyaOdiakose&²UthmanOlatunjiGambari

¹Department of Science Laboratory Technology

Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu

²Department of Science Laboratory Technology,

Delta State Polytechnic,Ozoro, Delta State

Email: u.gambari@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The effects of Azadirachtaindica(Neem) seeds and leaves extracts on some haematological parameters of albino rats were investigated in this study.Azadirachtaindica(Neem) leaves and seeds were extracted using a mixture of hexane, acetone and ethanol in a ratio of 1:1:1 as solvent. Twelve albino rats were shared into 4 groups of 3 rats per group. Group 1 (CNT) which was the control group was not treated with the plant extracts. Group 2 (SE) was treated with the seed extract; Group 3 (LE) was treated with the leaf extracts while Group 4 (SY) was treated with Dichlorvos (DDVP)as the positive control. The extracts were administered to the rats by inhalation for 28 days. Haematological parameters were determined using standard method. Results show that thetest groups showed anon-significant (p> 0.05)increase in the PCV levels when compared to the positive control group (SY). There was anon-significant (p>0.05) difference in WBC concentration across all groups. The test groupsshowed a significant (p<0.05) increase in lymphocytes levels when compared to the positive control group (SY). This present study demonstrated that Neemseeds and leaves extractsexhibited some level of toxicity and thereforemay be a potential and novel source of bio-insecticides.

Keywords:Neem, rat, pest, blood, extracts, test and group