OPEN ACCESS Asian Journal of Animal Sciences ISSN 1819-1878 DOI: 10.3923/ajas.2020.75.79 Research Article Hematological Effects of Palm Kernel Oil, Olive Oil, Crude Oil and Honey in Male Albino Rats 1 Chinedu Imo, 1Silas Verwiyeh Tatah, 2Nkeiruka Glory Imo, 1Michael Sunday Abu, 1Emochone Roy Yohanna, 1 Ozioma Prince Emmanuel and 1John Kanu 1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University Wukari, P.M.B. 1020, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria Department of Animal Production and Health, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Federal University Wukari, Nigeria 2 Abstract Background and Objectives: This study evaluated the haematological effects of palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey in male albino rats. The chemical substances are commonly used as antidote for poisons. Materials and Methods: Thirty healthy male albino rats were used in this study. They were randomly placed into five groups of six animals each and were administered the corresponding chemical substances for 21 days. They were sacrificed and blood sample collected for haematological analysis. The haematological analysis was carried out using Abacus 380. Results: The WBC increased significantly (p<0.05) in all the test groups compared to the control. The RBC, Hb, HCT and MCHC increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in all the test groups compared to the control. The MCV and MCH reduced non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 2 and 3 and significantly (p<0.05) in group 4, but increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in group 5 compared to the control. The RDWc reduced non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 2 and 3, but increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 4 and 5 compared to the control. The PLT, MPV and PDWc increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in all the test groups compared to the control. PCT increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 2, 3 and 4, but increased significantly (p<0.05) in group 5 compared to the control. Conclusion: This study showed that administration of palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey supports the synthesis of haemoglobin, PCV, platelets and RBC, but also showed evidence of toxicity as indicated by increased WBC count. Key words: Crude oil, haematological effects, honey, palm kernel oil, olive oil Citation: Chinedu Imo, Silas Verwiyeh Tatah, Nkeiruka Glory Imo, Michael Sunday Abu, Emochone Roy Yohanna, Ozioma Prince Emmanuel and John Kanu, 2020. Hematological effects of palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey in male albino rats. Asian J. Anim. Sci., 14: 75-79. Corresponding Author: Chinedu Imo, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University Wukari, P.M.B. 1020, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria Tel: +2348037505543 Copyright: © 2020 Chinedu Imo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing Interest: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists. Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its supporting information files. Asian J. Anim. Sci., 14 (3): 75-79, 2020 Honey is widely used for both nutritional and medicinal INTRODUCTION purposes. It has been proven to be rich in both enzymatic and Several chemical substances are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of different ailments, while some, such as; palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey are also used as antidote of poison. Palm kernel oil is a fat1 extracted industrially as a yellow coloured liquid from the kernel of the tropical palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) using mechanical press2 or with solvents like n-hexane3. The oil is also extracted traditionally as a dirty brown liquid by heating palm kernels in frying pan1,2,4 over firewood flames. The traditionally extracted palm kernel oil can be mixed with herbs for the treatment of febrile seizures, infections and also used as liniment for indolent tumours in folklore medicine1. The atherogenicity of palm kernel oil containing diet has been reported by Ibegbulem and Chikezie5. It increased the serum concentrations of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and decreased serum High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels, thereby increasing the total cholesterol/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios1. Ibegbulem1 also reported that palm kernel oil treated diets did not significantly affect haematological indices when administered to albino rats. Olive oil is gotten from the fruit of olive tree. Olives are a traditional crop of the Mediterranean region. Olive oil is known to be rich in monounsaturated fat and antioxidants like carotenoids and vitamin E. It has been reported to prevent the LDL cholesterol from oxidizing. It is the oxidized cholesterol that sticks to the walls of the arteries and forms plaque6,7. The nutritional and medicinal importance of olive leaves, fruit and its oil have been exploited in several households long ago8. The consumption of the fruits and liquid extractions of olive tree was evident in the copper age (6th millennium BC) and in the 8th and 9th century BC, the oil was used for food as well as to take care of burnt skin, dermatitis, stomach and intestinal problems9. Several studies have implicated the consumption of olive oil in decreasing the risk of malignant neoplasms, especially cancers of breast, stomach, ovary, colon and endometrium10 as well as prevention of cardiovascular and thrombotic diseases11. Crude oil also known as petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbon which can exist in several forms such as; aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic compounds. Most of these compounds when exposed to at a given lethal dose are known to be toxic to different biomass in the ecosystem12-13. It is well known to inflict several deleterious impacts on humans, other animals, plants and micro-organisms. Despite its acclaimed toxic effects, many people use crude oil in traditional medicine for the treatment of various ill-healths. non-enzymatic antioxidants such as; catalase, flavonoids and other polyphenols, as well as vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, ascorbic acid and nicotinic acid14-16. These four chemical substances are commonly used in traditional medicine, especially, in Nigeria. Therefore, this study investigated the haematological effects of palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey in male albino rats MATERIALS AND METHODS Duration of study: This study was carried out from February-July, 2019, at Federal University Wukari, Nigeria. Chemical substances used: Crude oil was obtained in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The olive oil was purchased in Wukari, Nigeria. Honey was obtained in Kurmi L.G.A. of Taraba State, Nigeria, while palm kernel oil was obtained in Umuahia, Nigeria. Experimental animals: Thirty healthy male albino rats of 7 weeks of age were used in this study. The animals were purchased and kept at the animal house, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University Wukari, Nigeria. All the rats were allowed access to water and feed ad libitum throughout the period of the experiment. Experimental design: The method of Imo et al.17 was used. The animals were randomly placed into five groups of six animals each. Group 1 animals served as normal control (they were administered a placebo of normal saline), while animals in groups 2, 3, 4 and 5 served as test animals. Animals in group 2, 3, 4 and 5 received palm kernel oil (5 mL kgG1 b.wt.), olive oil (5 mL kgG1 b.wt.), crude oil (5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) and honey (5 mL kgG1 b.wt.), respectively for 21 days. The animals received the corresponding chemical substance once daily through oral route. Blood collection: Following administration of the chemical substances to the test animals, all the animals were starved overnight, anaesthetized with chloroform and sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Blood samples were collected from each animal through cardiac puncture using a hypodermic syringe and dispensed into sample tubes containing an anti-coagulant. 76 Asian J. Anim. Sci., 14 (3): 75-79, 2020 Haematological analysis: The levels of WBC count, LYM, MID, groups 2 and 4, but increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in GRA, RBC count, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDWc, PLT, PCT, groups 3 and 5 compared to the control. The GRA increased MPV and PDWc were determined using haematological significantly (p<0.05) in group 2, but reduced non-significantly auto-analyzer (Abacus 380). (p>0.05) in groups 3, 4 and 5 compared to the control (Table 1). were Red Blood Cell (RBC), Hb, HCT and MCHC increased analyzed statistically with the use of One-Way Analysis of non-significantly (p>0.05) in all the test groups compared to Variance Statistical analysis: The biochemical results Statistical Package for Social the control. The MCV and MCH reduced non-significantly Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The means were compared for (p>0.05) in groups 2 and 3 and significantly (p<0.05) in group significance at p<0.05 and the group results were presented 4, but increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in group 5 as mean±SD (n = 6). compared to the control. The RDWc reduced non-significantly (ANOVA) using (p>0.05) in groups 2 and 3, but increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 4 and 5 compared to the control RESULTS (Table 2). The PLT, MPV and PDWc increased non-significantly The WBC increased significantly (p<0.05) in all the test reduced (p>0.05) in all the test groups compared to the control. The non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 2 and 5, but increased PCT increased non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 2, 3 and 4, non-significantly (p>0.05) in groups 3 and 4 compared to the but increased significantly (p<0.05) in group 5 compared to control. The MID reduced non-significantly (p>0.05) in the control (Table 3). groups compared to the control. The LYM Table 1: Concentration of white blood cells in rats administered palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey Parameters WBC (×109 LG1) Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 (Normal control) (Palm kernel oil: 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Olive oil : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Crude oil : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Honey : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) 3.38±0.83a 9.24±0.62b 8.37±0.38b 10.16±1.32b LYM (%) 66.40±3.06 56.97±3.42 67.80±4.07 11.87±1.46a 10.47±4.83a 14.40±3.84a 11.17±2.87a 12.90±0.60a GRA (%) 21.76±1.72a 32.57±3.35b 17.87±7.92a 20.00±5.97a 17.53±2.44a a 68.83±7.55 8.62±2.20b MID (%) a a a 59.57±16.20a Result represent mean±standard deviation of group result obtained (n = 6), mean in the same row having different letters of the alphabet are statistically significant at (p<0.05), WBC: White blood cell, LYM: Lymphocyte, MID: Mid-size cells, GRA: Granulocyte Table 2: Concentration of selected haematological parameters in rats administered palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey Parameters RBC (1012 LG1) Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 (Normal control) (Palm kernel oil: 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Olive oil : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Crude oil : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Honey : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) 7.24±0.32a 8.71±1.56a 8.19±1.51a 8.04±0.44a Hb (g dLG ) 12.53±0.35 14.30±0.98 13.37±2.24 39.02±2.06a 45.50±7.12a 44.18±2.91a 41.31±6.79a 44.08±3.50a MCV (fl) 53.67±0.58a 52.33±1.15a,b 53.00±1.00a,b 50.67±2.31b 54.66±1.15a 16.33±0.46 a 14.70±2.00 8.30±0.58a HCT (%) 1 a a a 14.27±0.91a MCH (pg) 17.33±0.29 16.93±0.72 17.27±0.45 MCHC (g dLG1) 32.13±0.90a 32.37±0.66a 32.40±0.50a 32.30±0.66a 32.37±0.50a RDWc (%) 21.46±0.91a,b 20.13±1.19a 21.13±0.55a,b 22.57±1.82b 21.57±0.21a,b a a,b a b 17.73±0.15a Result represent mean±standard deviation of group result obtained (n = 6), mean in the same row, having different letters of the alphabet are statistically significant at (p<0.05), RBC: Red blood cell, Hb: Haemoglobin, HCT: Hematocrit, MCV: Mean corpuscular volume, MCH: Mean corpuscular haemoglobin, MCHC: Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, RDWc: Red blood cell distribution width count Table 3: Concentration of platelets in rats administered palm kernel oil, olive oil, crude oil and honey Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Parameters (Normal control) (Palm kernel oil: 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Olive oil : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Crude oil : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) (Honey : 5 mL kgG1 b.wt.) PLT (109 LG1) 293.33±21.36a 432.33±49.07a 427.32±98.33a 350.67±36.66a PCT (%) 0.23±0.03 0.32±0.05 0.33±0.13 0.29±0.01 0.37±0.05b MPV (fl) 7.53±0.55a 7.60±0.44a 7.77±0.15a 8.03±0.95a 8.00±0.46a 34.33±2.25a 35.40±2.71a 34.93±1.10a 36.47±2.00a 34.67±0.76a PDWc (%) a a,b a,b a,b 444.00±42.00a Result represent mean±standard deviation of group result obtained (n = 6), mean in the same row, having different letters of the alphabet are statistically significant at (p<0.05), PLT: Platelet, PCT: Plateletcrit, MPV: Mean platelet volume, PDWc: Platelet distribution width count 77 Asian J. Anim. Sci., 14 (3): 75-79, 2020 eventually deplete endogenous antioxidants and cause DISCUSSION fragility of blood cells, thereby causing characteristic essential destruction of the cells. It can then be possibly hypothesised information on the entire pathophysiology of the blood and that, the non-significant impact of these chemical substances reticuloendothelial system18. Administration of honey, palm on RBC, HB and PLT could be probably that they were not in kernel oil, olive oil and crude oil significantly (p<0.05) their lethal doses to have caused oxidative damage or that the increased WBCs count as compared to the normal rats. On a increase in the WBC combined with the effect of endogenous contrast, none of the chemicals did significantly (p<0.05) antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and affect the other haematological parameters negatively, catalase would have mopped up the oxidative stress including the RBC, HB and PLT as compared to the normal rats generated and hence no significant alteration in those which may be an indication of absence of any form of parameters was recorded. Haematological investigation provides Similarly, other parameters such as; LYM, MID, HCT, MCHC, haemolysis. The WBC is a defensive mechanism that fights against MPV and PDWc were not significantly altered by the foreign bodies that could possibly initiate deleterious effects administered chemical substances in the test animals except on the tissues. Most often, upon detection of such foreign for MCV and MCH values that were significantly lowered in the materials, the immune response is triggered, leading to an group that was administered crude oil as compared to the increase proliferation of these cells in order to combat or mop normal rats. The non-significant alteration of the RDWc in the up the actions of such xenobiotic. The significant rise in WBC test animals when compared with the normal control showed count in this study may be a case of immune response to the that none of the chemical substances induced anisocytosis in presence of these chemical substances by the bodyʼs immune the animals. This non-significant (p>0.05) increase in RDWc system in order to neutralise the potential damaging effects of also implies that the size of red blood cells is normal in the test these chemical antigens . Similarly, known harmful chemicals animals which corroborates the results of haemoglobin and such as; carbon tetrachloride and diethylnitrosamine have red blood cell counts that were not significantly (p>0.05) been recorded to increase WBC counts in rats at minimal altered by these chemical substances in the experimental exposure but however, they tend to deplete the level of WBC animals. Meanwhile, elevated erythrocyte mean cell after chronic exposure. Yakubu et al. 19 reported that distribution width count (RDWc) has been previously diethylnitrosamine significantly raised the level of WBC in rats implicated in anisocytosis by Das and Vasudevan23, however, after an acute exposure while Famurewa et al.21 revealed such the present study did not record significant rise in RDWc and effect on white blood cells using carbon tetrachloride. On a hence, there was no case of anisocytosis in the test animals. contrary, these chemical agents may not necessarily have Administration of these substances showed the potency of been intended to cause destructive effects to the tissue but stimulating the production of platelets, hence, may not induce probably serve as means of triggering immune response thrombocytopenia in animals. Thrombocytopenia has been pathways that could be useful in terms of body response to reported by Golwala et al.24 to predict mortality. Furthermore, harmful agents and hence, they could be administered to an the result of MPV in the test animals when compared to the organism to boost the immune signalling pathways in times normal control implies that the blood platelet counts of the of dangerous infections or infiltrations of harmful chemical test animals were not lower than those of the normal animals substances to support the body in mobilising some immune and thus, correlates with the result of PLT. 20 molecules to effectively fight them. CONCLUSION The effect of administration of the chemical substances used in this study on the RBC, HB and PLT as compared to the normal rats is not statistically significant (p>0.05). However, This study showed that administration of palm kernel oil, reports are available on certain substances such as alcohol, olive oil, crude oil and honey in the animals supported the carbon tetrachloride and diethylnitrosamine tendencies to synthesis of parameters such as hemoglobin, PCV, platelets especially reduce the concentrations of these parameters. and RBC, but also showed evidence that the chemical Igboh et al.22 ascribed the decline in such indices to the substances may induce toxicity as indicated by the increased generation of reactive oxygen species, through the WBC count. Crude oil induced higher toxicity when compared microsomal metabolism by cytochrome P450 whose effects to the other chemical substances used. 78 Asian J. Anim. Sci., 14 (3): 75-79, 2020 12. Ballachey, B.E., J.L. Bodkin, D. Esler and S.D. Rice, 2014. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Lessons from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Biological Perspective. 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