The Normalizing Efficacy of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Moringa (Moringa oleifera), Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and ‘Ugwu’ (Telfairia occidentalis) in the Liver Enzymes of wild rats (Rattus rattus) living around a Cement Plant

摘要

The normalizing efficacy of roselle, moringa, ginger and ‘ugwu’ in the liver enzymes of wild rats living within the vicinity of a cement factory was evaluated. The rats were placed into seven groups, comprising 15 rats per group. Group one was tagged control 1, and rats in this group were obtained from a cement dust-free zone. Group two was tagged control 2 and, together with groups three through seven, consisted of rats collected from the cement factory. All the rats in the seven groups were kept in the cement dust-free zone. Before commencing the experiment, the ALT, AST and ALP levels in the rats were measured using standard protocols. The rats in the test groups were thereafter treated with 400 mg kg-1 ethanolic extracts of roselle, moringa, ginger, ‘ugwu’ and a mixture of the plant extracts, respectively, while the control 1 and 2 rats received only distilled water (10 ml/day). The activities of the liver enzymes were monitored for a period of 180 days. At the end of the treatment, the percentage decrease in the liver enzymes of the test rats were significantly (p<0.05) higher than the percentage decrease in the liver enzymes of rats in control 1 and 2. This finding suggests the normalizing efficacy of the plant extracts. It also shows that the food plants could be used to normalize or reverse health problems caused by cement dust exposure.