Abstract

Scientific reports on the haemostatic effects of Ageratum conyzoides, Asteraceae in experimental animals are relatively scanty. But their uses in wound care in many indigenous tribes around the world have been widely reported. This experiment was therefore designed to scientifically test the possible haemostatic effect of methanolic leaf extract of A. conyzoides using albino rat as a model. Twenty albino rats weighing 100 - 170 g were divided into four groups of five rats each. Group  = 1 \* ROMAN I served as control and received 10 ml/kg of vehicle (normal saline) while Group  = 2 \* ROMAN II,  = 3 \* ROMAN III, and  = 4 \* ROMAN IV served as the experimental groups and were given 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg of the methanolic leaf extract of A. conyzoides once a day for two weeks. All the doses were administered intraperitoneally. In all groups, the blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture under chloroform anaesthesia to determine prothrombin time, clotting time and plasma fibrinogen concentration. A skin puncture was made quickly using disposable lancet to determine bleeding time. The results obtained indicate that methanolic leaf extract of A. conyzoidessignificantly decreased (p < 0.05) the bleeding time, prothrombin time and clotting time respectively in a dose dependent manner. In contrast, plasma fibrinogen concentration significantly increased (p < 0.05). The study suggests that methanolic leaf extract of A. conyzoides possesses haemostatic activities and possibly interacts with both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways.

Key words: Ageratum conyzoides, bleeding time, prothrombin time, clotting time, plasma fibrinogen concentration, haemostasis, albino rats.