Abstract:

The effects of selected spices (Aframomum danielli, rough skin plum and country onions) on the renal functions of wistar rats fed for 28 days with feed substituted with the three aforementioned spices at different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%) were evaluated. The values obtained for the parameters evaluated ranged from 18.42mg/dL to 21.87mg/dL (Blood Urea Nitrogen-BUN); 9.26% to 9.81% (creatinine); 9.02 to 9.23x109/L (White Blood Cell Count- WBCC); and 7.00 to 7.17x1012/L (Red Blood Cell Count- RBCC) for the 28 days. The partial substitution of the rats' feed with proportions of the spices increased the BUN, creatinine, WBCC and RBCC levels of the rats The BUN levels were within the 15-40mg/dl for normal adult human blood, The increment observed in the creatinine levels were also within the biochemical reference range of 7.68–70.72 mol/L. The WBCC of the test animals fed with control feed reduced as the feeding period progressed. White blood cells are responsible for fighting infections or diseases in the body. Low counts of WBC may indicate that the body is immune-compromised, too high WBC counts might be an indication of many underlined diseases or the introduction of a foreign body responsible for the upsurge of WBC counts. The WBC count in this study was within the SI reference range of 4.5-11.0 x 109/L. The RBC count of all the test samples were higher than the SI reference range of 4.3-5.9 x 1012/L (male) and 3.5-5.5 x 1012/L (female).