Effect of cilantro on plasma lead levels and some hematological parameters in rats

Abstract

Lead toxicity poses a big risk to animal and human health worldwide, yet its therapy remains difficult. We investigated the effect of cilantro on lead concentration in rat plasma. Rats received 0.25 ml of lead acetate intraperitoneally at 1.6 mg/ml daily for 16 days followed by or without treatment with 0.6 g of cilantro/rat/day mixed in daily ration for sixteen days. The rats were then sacrificed and blood samples taken to determine the plasma levels of lead, packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts using standard procedures. Dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) of cilantro treated group were determined by proximate analysis. We observed that cilantro leaves had 12, 28.6 and 11.6% DM, CP and CF contents respectively. Lead injection caused an increase (p<0.05) in plasma lead levels while cilantro reduced (p<0.05) these levels. The mean of PCV and Hb of cilantro treated rats were higher (p<0.05) compared to the other treatments. RBCs counts were not affected while WBCs counts were higher (p<0.01) in lead injected rats. We conclude that cilantro leaves have a potential of reducing blood lead levels in rats and possibly other animals suspected of lead toxicity.

Keywords: Cilantro, plasma lead, hemoglobin, PCV, blood cell counts

Tanzania Vet Journal Vol. 25 (2) 2008: pp. 132-137