EFFECT OF DIETARY INCORPORATION OF FICUS GLUMOSA (UBUBA) LEAVES ON PACKED CELL VOLUME (PCV) OF PLASMODIUM BERGHEI INFECTED MICE

Malaria is a global public health burden with an estimated 229 million cases reported worldwide in 2019. About 94% of the reported cases were recorded in the African region. A major complication of malaria infection is the reduction in packed cell volume. Despite efforts to treat and manage malaria, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies that focus on how existing anti-malarial drugs interact with packed cell volume in malaria infection. Also, drug resistance and the emergence of new Plasmodium strains remain persistent challenges, necessitating the exploration of innovative therapeutic strategies. This study investigated the effect of dietary incorporation of Ficus glumosa leaves on packed cell volume (PCV) of Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. A total of 36 mice, weighing between 23g to 35g, were acclimatized and then 30 of these mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 0.2ml blood suspension containing 106 – 107 parasitized erythrocytes of chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei (NK-65) obtained from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos. The mice were divided into six groups: groups 1, 2, and 3 received diets incorporated with 5%, 10%, and 20% of powdered Ficus glumosa leaves per 100g of rat chow respectively; group 4 received 5mg/kg BW of Artesunate; group 5 served as the negative control (parasitized but untreated); and group 6 served as the normal control (non-parasitized). After treatment period, all mice were sedated with ketamine and dissected. Blood obtained by cardiac puncture using EDTA treated bottles, sterile syringes and needles. Packed Cell Volume (PVC) were measured using Sysmex KX-21 Hematology Analyzer (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan) at the Hematology Unit of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar. Results showed that the Ficus glumosa leaves incorporated into diets caused chemo-suppression in parasitemia by 54%, 58% and 61% at concentrations of 5%, 10% and 20% respectively, while Artesunate exerted 58% chemo-suppression at 5mg/kg body weight. There was no significant difference between the packed cell volume of the treated groups and the untreated group (p ˃ 0.05). However, the packed cell volume of the groups fed powdered Ficus glumosa leaves were almost at par with the standard control group. This indicates that the leaves possess bioactive compounds capable of maintaining or improving blood health in a manner similar to conventional antimalarial drugs. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore their therapeutic applications.