Haematological Changes Associated with Administration of Therapeutic dose of P-Alaxin in Healthy Adult Wistar Rats

Abstract

P-alaxin, an artemisinin based combined therapy is very effective in treating malaria infection in areas of high resistance to conventional antimalarial drugs. It is a potentially promising anti-malaria drug composed of dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine phosphate. The present study investigates the safety in-use of therapeutic dose of p-alaxin by healthy individuals.

Thirty adult wistar rats of both sexes weighing between 180 and 210g were grouped into three consisting of 5 males and 5 females per group. The control group was orally administered with normal saline, the test and recovery groups were given body weight 15.4mg/Kg of P-alaxin orally for three days after which the recovery group was allowed to recover from the drug’s effect for another three days. The animals were sacrificed twenty four (24) hours after the experiment.  The blood samples were collected through cardiac puncture into heparinised tubes centrifuged at 5000rpm for 10mins and was used for haematological assay.

The result showed no significant difference (p?0.05) in packed cell volume (PCV), Red blood cell count and White Blood cell count of the male rats administered with P- alaxin and the recovery group when compared with the female groups.  Whereas a significant increase (p? 0.05) was observed in the haemoglobin (HB) level of the male rats after treatment, there was no significant change in the Haemoglobin (HB) level of the female animals when the drug was administered as well as during the recovery period.

The results of this study indicate administration of p-alaxin in healthy individuals will neither induce haemolysis nor anaemia.

Keywords: P-alaxin, artemisinin, antimalarial, haemoglobin