Beebread and Honey improves some Haematologic Parameters in Male Albino Mice

Abstract

The effects of honey and beebread on some haematological parameters were investigated in fifteen apparently healthy adult albino male mice. The mice  were divided into three groups of five mice each after a two-week period of acclimatization. The mice in group A were given distilled water orally to serve  as a control while those in groups B and C were administered honey and beebread respectively by gavages at the dose rate of 1g/kg body weight and at a  concentration of 40% w/v using water as a vehicle, once daily for 70 consecutive days. Micro-haematocrit and hematocytometry were used for  determination of packed cell volume and erythrocyte and differential leucocyte counts, respectively. Haemoglobin concentration was estimated by using  Cyanmethemoglobin method. There were significant (p ˂0.05) increases in the red blood cells count, packed cell volume and haemoglobin concentration  in the treatment groups compared to the control group, with the most increase observed in the group treated with beebread. There was significant (p ˂  0.05) increase in total leucocyte count in the treated groups with the highest count recorded in the honey treated group than the control. Lymphocytes  and neutrophils significantly (p ˂ 0.05) increased in the treatment groups but there were no significant (P > 0.05) changes in the number of eosinophils,  basophils and monocytes. The study demonstrates the positive haematopoietic effects of supplementation of feed with honey and beebread.