HEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF RATS ADMINISTERED WITH PROPOLIS FOLLOWING ANTITUBERCULOSIS DRUGS INDUCED TOXICITY
Antituberculosis drugs (ATD) used as standard drugs for the treatment of deadly disease tuberculosis, cause blood disorders. The present study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of propolis against ATD induced alteration in blood parameters in rats. Rats were administered with ATD for 8 weeks (3 days/week) followed by propolis at three different doses (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) conjointly for 8 weeks (3 days/week) orally. Silymarin (50 mg/kg) was used as positive control in the study. After 8 weeks, animals were euthanized; blood was collected by retro-orbital sinus method for analysis of hematological parameters. The results of this study show a decrease in red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell distribution width alongwith increase in the number of lymphocytes in ATD induced rats. Treatment with propolis extract encountered ATD induced blood parameter alteration which was evident by significant reversal in hematological indices towards control in a dose dependent manner. Thus, it can be concluded that propolis may be an agent of therapeutic choice in case of ATD induced hematological alterations.