Background: Mucuna pruriens and Justicia carnea are plants with known therapeutic properties used in traditional medicine to treat a range of ailments. The present study aimed to examine the effects of Mucuna pruriens, Justicia carnea, and their combined ethanol leaf extracts on the biochemical indices of anemic rats induced by phenylhydrazine.
Methods: Thirty male albino rats were divided into six groups of five rats each. Anemia was induced using 80 mg/kg phenylhydrazine intraperitoneally, except in the normal control. Group 1 served as normal control, Group 2 as anemic control, and Group 3 received Astyfer (1.5 mg/kg). Groups 4-6 were treated with 200 mg/kg of Mucuna pruriens, Justicia carnea, and their combination. Treatments were given orally for three weeks before blood collection for biochemical analysis.
Results: Liver function test revealed a significant increase in Alkaline phosphatase level of groups 3 and 6 (p<0.05). Kidney function test showed a significant increase in potassium level in group 3 and urea level in groups 2 and 6 (p<0.05), while creatinine level significantly decreased in groups 3, 5, and 6 (p<0.05). Lipid profile results showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol level of groups 2, 3, and 6 (p<0.05). Antioxidant assay showed no significant differences (p>0.05), except for a significant decrease (p<0.05) in catalase level in group 5.
Conclusion: Findings from this study indicated that Mucuna pruriens, Justicia carnea, and their combined extract have a potent protective effect against complications arising from anemia, as the extracts restored most of the altered biochemical markers towards normal.