Background & Aim:Telfairia occidentalis, Moringa oleifera and Cnidoscolus aconitifolius are nutritious vegetables used individually, or in different combinations as blood boosters in managing sickle cell anemia in South-Western Nigeria. Inthis study, we evaluated th
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Background & Aim:Telfairia occidentalis, Moringa oleifera and Cnidoscolus aconitifolius are nutritious vegetables used individually, or in different combinations as blood boosters in managing sickle cell anemia in South-Western Nigeria. Inthis study, we evaluated the antisickling properties of the polyherbal combination, as well as the mode(s) of action, using molecular biology techniques.Experimental: T. occidentalis, M. oleifera and C. aconitifolius leaves were extracted separately in ethanol after identification by a taxonomist. The extracts were combined in different ratios (TMC, T2MC, TM2C, TMC2) and evaluated at 4 mg/mL concentration for antisickling properties. Ciklavit®, an antisickling nutraceutical, was utilized as the positive control. We evaluated the combination (T2MC) for the rate of inhibition of polymerization of sickle hemoglobin (HbS), erythrocyte membrane stabilization, and rehydration of dense sickle red cells in vitro. The regulation of the Gardos channel, erythropoietin (EPO), mitogenesis, and antioxidant genes was assessed in vivo by harvesting and analyzing the bone marrows, kidneys, livers of Wistar rats administered with T2MC orally at 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight for 28 days. Folic acid was employed as the positive control.Results: The T2MC treated samples showed significantly higher (p <0.05) antisickling activities (95.4 ± 0.15% inhibition and 95.6 ± 0.28% reversal), and cell membrane stabilization (76.8 ± 0.05%) than the positive controls. Additionally, T2MC reduced the density of sickle red cells by 18.2 ± 0.86%, and showed inhibition of polymerization of HBS comparable to positive controls. Finally, T2MC down-regulated the expression of the Gardos-channel and the erythropoietin genes suggesting that T2MC works by inhibiting the activation of Ca2+activated K+channel, thereby preventing cell dehydration.Recommended applications/industries: T2MC is a potent antisickling nutraceutical and could be used in the management of sickle cell disease.
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