Activity of Panax ginseng on hematological and biochemical parameters of healthy rabbits

Abstract

The study was carried at Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Thamar University, Dhamar, during the period from May to July 2013 with main objective to investigate the effects of P. ginseng on hematological and biochemical parameters in local rabbits. A total of 49 adult female rabbits were selected and subjected for experiment. The rabbits were randomly located into seven groups. 1st, 2nd and 3rd groups were received daily oral doses of P. ginseng root powder at concentration of 1g , 3g and 5g / body weight respectively and 4th, 5th and 6th groups were received daily overall doses P. ginseng capsules at concentration of 0.2g, 0.6g and 1g/Kg respectively. The 7th group distilled water and acted as control group. Blood samples were collected from rabbits for hematological and biochemical analyses using standard techniques. The results revealed significant (P>0.05) an increase in hemoglobin blood in 2nd and 4th groups with mean values as (31.53± 0.45) and (32.00±4.50) respectively compared to the control group (16.03± 1.45). But, the results itself revealed that P. ginseng did not cause a significant (P<0.05) change in the total number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the experimental animal groups. Moreover, the results demonstrated that a significant (P<0.05) decreases in levels of in enzyme liver (AST, ALT, and ALP) and markers of kidney i.e., Urea and creatinine. In conclusion, the ginseng crud powder and capsules at different doses has biological effect on the hematological and biochemical parameters, thus justify its use in traditional and alternative medicine. Further studies are recommended to study toxicity of ginseng.