Abstract :
Medicinal plants have been in use from the ancient times till date. Most drugs used in Othordox medicines have their origin from medicinal plants. Azadirachta Indica (Neem) fresh leaves were sourced from Nsukka (Enugu State, Eastern Nigeria) and identified by Botanist at the department of Botany, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The crude aqueous leaf extract was assayed to determine the phytochemical contents using appropriate methods. The subjects used for this study were between 20 and 30 years, which includes normal Haemoglobin genotype (Hb AA), sickle heterozygotes (Hb AS) and sickle homozygotes (Hb SS) individuals. The subject’s blood samples were collected from University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu and their genotypes duly confirmed. The haemolytic effect of Azadirachta Indica was determined using the subjects blood samples at different incubation period and at different concentrations of the plant extract. This study showed that Azadirachta Indica has haemolytic effect which was more pronounced in genotype ‘SS’. This observation is attributed to the fragility and instability of sickle haemoglobin. The haemolytic effect of A. Indica on the three haemoglobin genotypes was due to the presence of surface active substances such as saponin and tannin which are active phytochemicals detected in the aqueous leaf extract.
Keyword :
Azadirachta Indica, Genotype, phytochemical, Haemolysis, fragility.