Antioxidants and hematological profile in pregnancy

This study aims to investigate the effect of supplementation with vitamin A, C and E on hematological profile in pregnancy using Wister Albino rats. 85 adult female rats were procured from the animal house of the College of Medicine, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. They were divided into 5 groups; a control group A, vehicle group B, vitamin A treated group C, vitamin C treated group D and vitamin E treated group E all having 5 animals each respectively. After pregnancy was confirmed, the control group A received distilled water, the vehicle group B received Tween-80 while the test groups C, D and E were dosed oro-gastrically with vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E at five different doses for eleven days respectively. Blood samples were collected 24hrs after completion of treatment and analyzed for Hemoglobin concentration (Hb), complete white blood cell (WBC) and differential count. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Student t test was performed and a p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results revealed that at a very low dose, vitamin A, C and E produced no significant change in Hemoglobin concentration. However, a dose dependent change was observed in the hematological profile. WBC count was lower in the experimental group when compared with control. Polymorph count was significantly reduced in the test groups (p < 0.05) while lymphocyte count remained unchanged when compared with control (p > 0.05). Vitamin A, C and E cause a dose dependent alteration in hematological profile in pregnancy.