Evaluating Omega-3 And Selenium In Mitigating Haart-Induced Blood Toxicity In Wistar Rats
Emmanuel Chinedu Okoro
Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
Abstract
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) or combination antiretroviral therapy is a treatment regimen typically comprising of combination of three or more drugs from two or more classes of antiretroviral drugs. HAART-induced haemotoxicity is well reported with oxidative stress partly blamed for the insult on tissues. There is paucity of information on the possible ameliorating effects of common antioxidants (Omega 3 and Selenium) on HAART-induced haemotoxicity in wistar rats and hence this study. Sixteen male Wistar rats weighing 120 – 250g used for the study were divided into four groups of 4 rats each viz group 1 (control), group 2 (HAART-only), group 3 (HAART + Omega 3) and group 4 (HAART + Selenium). Duration of daily administration and treatment was six weeks. Results showed a significantly decreased (p<0.05) red blood cell count in the HAART-only group compared with control but which was significantly increased in the HAART + Omega 3 and HAART+ Selenium groups compared with HAART-only group (p<0.05 in each case). Hemoglobin concentration was significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the HAART-only group compared with control but significantly increased in HAART + Omega 3 and HAART + Selenium groups compared with HAART-only group (p<0.05). Packed cell volume was significantly reduced in the HAART-only group compared with control but which was significantly higher in HAART + Omega 3 and HAART + Selenium groups compared with HAART-only group (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed in mean corpuscular volume among the groups. The mean corpuscular hemoglobin was significantly reduced in the HAART-only group compared with the control (p<0.05). Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the HAART-only group compared with control but increased in the HAART + Omega 3 and HAART + Selenium compared with HAART only groups (p<0.05 in each case). We therefore conclude that co-administration of Omega 3 or Selenium ameliorates HAART-induced haemotoxicity in Wistar rats