Abstract

Mucuna pruriens (MP) has been pharmacologically studied for various activities like aphrodisiac, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial and anti-epileptics activities. The present study aims at investigating the effects of shade-dried seeds of M. prurienson some haematological and bio-chemical parameters. Wistar strain albino rats of both sexes with weights ranging from 220 to 300 g were fed with shade-dried pul-verized seeds of M. pruriens in a 10-days experiment. The result shows that the Nigerian M. pruriens seeds improve the haematological and serum biochemical parameters determined in a dose-dependent manner. The study shows that shade-dried, pulverized seeds of M. pruriens lowers blood cholesterol, blood urea and serum creatinine. It also reduces bleeding time; increases platelet count and these were statistically significant (p<0.05). However, the effect on packed cell volume (PCV) was not statistically significant when compared with the control (p<0.05). Hence, shade-dried seeds of MP seeds are not poisonous when compared with the raw seeds.

Key words: Mucuna pruriens, arteriosclerosis, uremia, haemostatic ability, platelet count, creatinine, hyperchol-esterolaemia, hematological parameters.