INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTS OF EXTRACTS OF ASPARAGUS SETACEOUS KUNTH AND CEASALPINIA VOLKENSII HARM ON TOTAL AND DIFFERENTIAL WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNTS IN RATS

Kenneth O Ogila^a ;Zipporah Ng’ang’a^b and Josephat Shililu^a

^aDepartment of Zoology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.

^bDepartment of Medical Laboratory Science, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Nairobi, Kenya.

Email: k_ogila@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Asparagus setaceous and Caesalpinia volkensii grows in several parts of Kenya. Extracts of these two plants have been suggested to be effective in the treatment of bacterial infections. To examine the mechanism by which these herbal remedy might be effective in combating bacterial infections, the capacity of aqueous and organic extracts of these plants to elevate white blood cell (WBCs) counts in rats were investigated. Aqueous, ethanol and methanolic extracts from both plants were found to significantly elevate WBCs counts in rat. These results of in vivo finding are very exciting. They indicate that the plant kingdom may be a potential source of general immunomodulators which may be useful in combating a myriad of tropical diseases, including the opportunistic infections associated with AIDS.

Key words: extracts, infectious diseases, WBCs counts and immunomodulators