Abstract
Studies on the effects of the combination of aqueous extracts of Azadiracta indica and Morinda lucida on packed cell volume(PCV) and the activities of phosphatases of rat cellular tissues was investigated. Twenty eight (28) albino rats of six month old of an average weight 182.4g were grouped in to four groups; A, B, C and D. All the rats in the four groups were fed with fowl formulation feeds obtained from poultry store in VOM Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria and water was provided ad libitum for 18 days. Rats in group A, B, C were administered 0.5ml/kg body wt each of A.indica extract, only M.lucida extract, and combination of A.indica and M.lucida extracts orally respectively for 18 days. Group D contained seven rats designated “control”. One of the rats from the control was sacrificed at day one, its cellular tissues (liver, kidney, small intestine, and large intestine) were collected and analyzed for PCV, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Acid Phosphatase (ACP) activities. One of the rats from each of the groups A, B, C and D were sacrificed at every three days interval and these tissues were also collected and analyzed for PCV, ALP, and ACP activities. The result showed a significant decrease in the activities of these enzymes as compared to the control values. The trends of the activities of these enzymes were similar following repeated administration of the extracts, and thereby caused alterations in the activities of both enzymes. This trend when subjected to student t-test analysis, showed significant difference at P>0.05.