Abstract:

Costus afer is a plant used in Nigeria as a household therapy for the treatment of many ailments. In this study, an attempt was made to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of Costus afer leaves on some haematological indices in albino rats. Twenty albino rats were used in the study. The rats weredivided into five groups of four each. Group A rats (control group) were administered with distilled water. Group B rats were administered with 250mg/kg body weight (bw) of the extract. Group C rats were administered 500mg/kg bw of the extract. Group D rats received 750mg/kg bw of the extract while Group E rats received 100mg/kg bw of the extract. The treatment was given once daily for seven consecutive days after which the blood samples were collectedfor haematological studies. The study revealed that aqueous extract of Costus afer leaves had a significant (p<0.05) effect on haematological indices. There was a significant increase in the number of white blood cells and significant decrease in the number of red blood cells, haemoglobin concentration andNumber of platelets of the treated rats when compared with the con