Evaluation of erythrocyte restorative efficacy of three nigerian tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) varieties in experimental anaemia in wistar rats

Abstract

Anaemia disorders affect nearly two billion individuals worldwide, with its pharmacological interventions often constrained by accessibility and economic factors in resource-limited populations. In this study we investigated the erythrocyte restorative efficacy of three varieties of indigenous Nigerian tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivars on anaemia recovery through nutritionally-mediated erythropoietic stimulation. In this experimental study design, male Wistar rats (180-200g) underwent phenylhydrazine-induced haemolytic anaemia (150mg/kg intraperitoneally, for three consecutive days), then received daily oral administrations of concentrated aqueous extracts from three tomato varieties:  Tomi Tomi (Northern cultivar, 52.4g, average single fruit mass), Ogheghe (20.4g, average single fruit mass), and Ekwuoma local (58.3g, average single fruit mass), at 500mg/kg body weight for four weeks, with erythropoietin (5IU/kg) serving as positive control. An haematology auto-analyzer  was used to analyze haematological parameters such as red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (HGB), haematocrit (HCT) or packed cell volume (PCV), and erythrocyte indices (MCH, MCHC, MCV), while reticulocyte count was done using a supravital staining technique.  Statistical analysis employed ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc testing (p < 0.05). An HCT value of <20% confirmed anaemia. Compared to normal control, all three varieties elicited enhancing effect on the reticulocyte count from a very significant increase (p < 0.001) in weeks 1-3 to full normalization by week 4. RBC count, HGB concentration and HCT values exhibited significant decreases (p < 0.05) in Week 1, and then normalized in week 3. MCV was significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in weeks 1-3, suggesting accelerated reticulocyte release, MCH and MCHC elicited stable non-significant haemoglobinization. Whereas Tomi tomi variety demonstrated peak efficacy in week 1, Ogheghe and Ekwuoma local varieties extended to week 3.  The three tomato varieties demonstrated restorative efficacy comparable to exogenous erythropoietin, which could constitute reliable, cheap and accessible nutritional alternatives for addressing haemolytic anaemia throughout populations experiencing conventional treatment barriers.