Assessment of the safety of aqueous extract of Aloe vera on haematology of Wistar rats

Aloe vera is used both traditionally and packaged commercially in many regions of the world for several medicinal and or cosmetic purposes. It is claimed to have rejuvenating, moisturizing, healing or soothing properties on the skin and gastrointestinal tract. This study focused on assessment of the safety of A. vera on blood parameters: packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count (WBC), its differentials neutrophils, lymphocytes and platelet counts. Thirty Wistar rats were equally and randomly divided into 3 groups and A. vera extract solution was administered to 2 groups for 12 or 24 h respectively, for 7 days consecutively. The third group served as control for the experiment. Blood samples were collected on day 8 to determine changes in the haemogram as a basis for toxicity. Rats administered with A. vera extract, particularly for 24 h showed increased levels of PCV (47.42 plus or minus 4.32%), RBC (9.26 plus or minus 0.60 X106/ mu L), WBC (12.61 plus or minus 0.45 X103/ mu L) and its differentials. Platelet count was also significantly increased (150.25 plus or minus 4.77 X109/L). The results from this study showed that A. vera stimulated increased production of all blood cell types. In conclusion, protracted consumption of the extract of A. vera cause stimulation of haematopoiesis which may induce or encourage the progression of haemoproliferative disorders.