Effect of oral administration of sublethal concentration of atrazine on the haematological profile of albino rat

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of 28 day exposure of albino rats to graded sublethal concentrations of atrazine on the haematological profile. Thirty six (36) male albino rats used for the study were divided into four groups of nine rats each. Group I served as the untreated control while groups II, III and IV were treated with atrazine at 150, 200 and 300 mg/kg body weight orally administered for 28 days. Packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, haemoglobin concentration (Hb), total white blood cell (WBC) count and differential WBC count were assessed on day 14, 21, and 28. The exposure to atrazine led to significant reductions in PCV, Hb and RBC of the treated groups especially on day 21 and 28. The treated groups also had significantly higher (p<0.05) total WBC counts all through the study, and group IV rats had significantly higher (p<0.05) lymphocytes and significantly lower (p<0.05) neutrophil on day 28 when compared with the control.

Keywords: Albino rat, Rattus norvegicus, Atrazine, Haematology

Animal Research International(2012) 9(2): 1572 – 1578