The antisickling effects of dried fish (tilapia) And dried prawn (<i>Astacus red</i>)

Abstract

The antisickling effect of dried fish (Tilapia) and dried prawn (Astacus red) were investigated to ascertain the ability of the extracts of these samples to inhibit polymerisation of sickle cell haemoglobin (HbS), improve the Fe ²⁺/Fe ³⁺ ratio and lower the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in blood plasma. The samples were first ground into powder and soaked in chloroform/dichloromethane to defat them and in essence produce the fat soluble fraction (filtrate). The defatted residues were soaked in methanol for 24 hours to obtain a methanol soluble fraction. This was finally fractioned in a mixture of BuOH/H2O (1:1) to give the butanol-soluble (BUS) and water-soluble (WAS) fractions respectively. These fractions were subsequently concentrated by rotary evaporation. The fat-soluble (FAS), BUS, and WAS phases were able to inhibit HbS polymerisation to varying degrees from 50% for FAS to 95% for BUS. The water-soluble phases of these samples were also found to increase the Fe ²⁺/Fe ³⁺ ratio from 6% to 95%. The phases equally reduced LDII activity in serum of ten sickle cell disease patients to varying degrees from 12% to 40%. Nutritionally, the different fractions or phases were found to be rich in free amino acids which ranged from 951.05mg/100g of sample for tilapia to 1906.05mg/100g of sample for crayfish (Astacus; red). The soluble protein concentration of the samples was equally estimated. Dried tilapia has an aggregate protein content of 28.7.30mg/100g of sample while dried prawn has 1626mg/100g of sample. Dried fish (Tilapia) and dried prawn (Astacus red) could both be nutritionally and therapeutically beneficial in the management of sickle cell disease.

Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 9(3) 2005: 115-119