Abstract

*Dr. Okoye Ngozi Franca and Uloho Elo Treasure

ABSTRACT

Aim: Apple cider vinegar is widely used all over the world and it has been consistently used for its healing properties. In this study, the in vivo effect of apple cider vinegar with the mother on kidney function and haematological parameters of Wistar rat were investigated. Materials and method: A total of 18 rats (average weight of 110g) were used for the study. The rats were fed for a period of three weeks with the same concentrations the apple cider vinegar. The rats were grouped into six groups of three rats in each group. Three groups served as the control for each week (day 7, 14 and 21) while the other three groups were administered orally with 1ml of apple cider vinegar “with mother” twice daily for each week. The urea and creatinine levels were determined using spectrophotometric methods, The haemoglobin count, packed cell volume, total white blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelet count, neutrophil and lymphocyte count were also assayed. Results: Test results showed that the apple cider vinegar had a slight increase (p?0.05) on the urea and creatinine levels in a time dependent manner. The highest increase was observed at the last week of feeding. The results for urea showed that the highest value was obtained in day 21 (11.00 ± 3.82) as compared to control animals (10.99 ± 0.01). The creatinine values also showed slight increase (P?0.05) in test animals when compared to control animals. The highest increase was obtained in day 21 (36.10±1.52) as compared to control (34.42±0.02). Test results also showed that the apple cider vinegar had a lowering effect on the haematological parameters studied in a concentration and time dependent manner with differences in concentration and time at 95 % confidence levels (P< 0.05). The highest decrease of 11.11 ± 0.18 vs control 12.34 ± 0.24 (g/dl) was obtained for Hb at 21 days duration. PCV, WBC, RBC, platelet, neutrophil and lymphocyte analysis also showed highest decrease at 21 days duration. Conclusion: The results showed that using apple cider vinegar in small amounts for a short period of time had little effect. However, it is imperative that anyone intending to take large amounts of bentonite for long periods of time to undergo blood tests from time to time.