Asiedu-Gyekye Isaac Julius, Antwi-Boasiako Charles, Oppong Seth, Arthur Stella, Sarkodie Joseph Edusei
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Ghana School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Physiology, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Ghana.
J Intercult Ethnopharmacol. 2016 Jul 23;5(4):350-357. doi: 10.5455/jice.20160721104042. eCollection 2016 Sep-Dec.
Unsweetened natural cocoa powder (UNCP), prepared after removal of the cocoa butter, is a common beverage in Ghana. It possesses antimalarial prophylactic property and has a beneficial effect on blood components.
The aim of this study was to determine whether regular dietary supplement of UNCP mitigates high-dose (HD) artemether-lumefantrine (A-L)-induced hematological disorders and to determine the effect on nitric oxide (NO) levels.
Adult male guinea pigs (300 g - 350 g) were randomly divided into 5 groups of 6 guinea pigs each. Among the 5 groups, 3 groups were treated with UNCP (300, 900, and 1500 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days. A-L (75 mg/kg) was administered from the 12 to 14 day. One of the remaining 2 groups received distilled water only, i.e., vehicle control group (VCG) while the other received 75 mg/kg A-L only, i.e., negative control group (NCG). Blood samples from all groups were obtained by cardiac puncture (day 15) followed by hematological and NO analysis.
A-L reduced white blood cells (WBC) by 31.87%, lymphocyte count by 45.99%, hemoglobin by 11.72%, hematocrit by 18.56%, and platelet count by 33.08% in the NCG. Administration of various doses of UNCP increased WBC and lymphocyte count ( > 0.05) compared to the NCG. UNCP and A-L combination caused an increase in NO levels when compared to the VCG.
Regular consumption of UNCP by guinea pigs increases plasma NO and restores some hematological disorders induced by a 3-day HD A-L administration.
未加糖的天然可可粉（UNCP）是去除可可脂后制成的，是加纳一种常见的饮品。它具有抗疟疾预防特性，对血液成分有有益作用。
本研究的目的是确定定期膳食补充UNCP是否能减轻高剂量（HD）蒿甲醚-本芴醇（A-L）诱导的血液学紊乱，并确定其对一氧化氮（NO）水平的影响。
成年雄性豚鼠（300克 - 350克）随机分为5组，每组6只。在这5组中，3组用UNCP（300、900和1500毫克/千克体重）处理14天。从第12天至第14天给予A-L（75毫克/千克）。其余2组中的一组仅接受蒸馏水，即溶剂对照组（VCG），而另一组仅接受75毫克/千克A-L，即阴性对照组（NCG）。所有组的血样通过心脏穿刺采集（第15天），随后进行血液学和NO分析。
在NCG中，A-L使白细胞（WBC）减少31.87%，淋巴细胞计数减少45.99%，血红蛋白减少11.72%，血细胞比容减少18.56%，血小板计数减少33.08%。与NCG相比，给予不同剂量的UNCP可增加WBC和淋巴细胞计数（>0.05）。与VCG相比，UNCP和A-L联合使用导致NO水平升高。
豚鼠定期食用UNCP可增加血浆NO，并恢复3天高剂量A-L给药诱导的一些血液学紊乱。
