Antioxidant, Hematological and Anti-obesity properties of curcuma longa and mentha piperita in Albino rats

Curcuma longa (Tumeric) and Mentha piperita (Pepper mint) are spices commonly used for various curlinary, pharmacological and medicinal purposes. This study was done to determine the antioxidant, hematological and anti-obesity properties of both plants, when taken in single and combined forms. Forty- two (42) wistar rats of mixed gender, excluding pregnant animals were used for the experiment which lasted for six weeks. Animals were divided into seven groups. Group A (Normal Control group), were fed with commercial rat pellets. The experimental groups comprised of Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F and Group G which were fed with a combination of commercial rat pellets and plant samples in different percentages. The initial weight was taken, while subsequent weight measurements were done weekly. The antioxidant and hematological parameters were determined using standard techniques and procedures. After careful analyses of data using ANOVA  for Antioxidant and hematological parameters, t-test  for weight analysis, the results showed that the control group had a non-significantly higher SOD activity (p value=0.65) than the experimental groups. Almost all the experimental groups had a significantly lower Catalase activity (p value =0.04), compared to the control group. There was a non-significant lower MDA level (p value=0.79) in most of the experimental groups. The hematological tests showed that there was no significant increase in WBC level in all the experimental groups compared to the control (p value= 0.43), though the 10% mixture had a higher WBC level. There was a significantly reduced hemoglobin count, hematocrit and RBC count in most of the experimental groups when compared to the control (RBC p value=0.01). There was also a non-significant non-concentration dependent increase in platelet count in most of the experimental groups especially group G (10% mixture of both plants) (p value=0.32). There was also an observed reduction in weight in most of the experimental groups. It can therefore, be concluded that both plants possess antioxidant properties. They may however, have negative effects on hematological indices and may as well, have anti-obesity effects, especially when taken at high concentrations.