Biology and Medicine

Abstract

Preclinical Anemia Panel Studies of "Makardhvaja" after Chronic Administration to Male Sprague-Dawley Rats

Sagor Chandra Roy, Md. Mamun Sikder, Arjyabrata Sarker, Md. Afaz Uddin, Neshat Masud, Md. Rakib Hasan, Nilay Saha and M. S. K. Choudhuri

Makardhvaja (MD) is an Ayurvedic preparation used as a traditional medicine in the treatment of sexual dysfunction in the rural population. The effect of chronic administration of Makardhvaja on the hematological parameters and serum iron profi le was studied in this experiment. The acute toxicity test of MD recorded no death, even at the highest dose of 80 ml/kg body weight. During the chronic toxicity test, animals were divided into two groups. The fi rst group was given MD preparation at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight for 28 days while the second group that served as the control received water for the same period. After 28 days of chronic administration of the MD preparation to the male Sprague-Dawley rats, the following hematological changes were noted. Erythrocytic indices such as red blood count (RBC), hemoglobin, Hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red cell volume distribution width (RDW) did not change signifi cantly. In the male rats, a statistically highly signifi cant (p=0.003) decrease (27.35%) in the serum iron level, an increase (26.42%) in the serum ferritin level, which, though not signifi cant, was prominent (p=0.120), and a statistically very highly signifi cant (p=0.001) decrease (47.05%) in the serum total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were noted.