Olu Israel OYEWOLE^1,, Mojisola Oluwakemi SHOREMI¹, Johnson Olaleye OLADELE¹

Cadmium (Cd) and its compounds are ubiquitous environmental toxins capable of inducing different types of toxicity in animals and human. Ricinus communis (castor bean) is a known medicinal plant with enormous health benefits. This study investigated the protective effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Ricinus communis on hyperlipidemia and pancytopenia induced by cadmium chloride in Wistar albino rats. Twenty five (25) adult male rats were divided into 5 groups of 5 rats each. Group A received distilled water, group B, C, D and E were administered 5mg/kg body weight CdCl₂, group C, D and E were treated with 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw respectively of Ricinus communis leaf extract for 14 days while rats in group B were left untreated. Results obtained showed that administration of cadmium caused significant reduction in cellular elements of the blood (pancytopenia) as well as increase in the level of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and coronary heart disease risk ratio while it decrease the level of HDL-cholesterol. Treatment of rats with graded dose of Ricinus communis leaf extract significantly ameliorate the adverse effects of cadmium as it boosted cellular elements of the blood while it also reduced serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, coronary heart disease risk ratio as well as elevation of HDL-cholesterol level in the blood. We conclude that leaf extract of Ricinus communis has modulatory effects on cadmium induced pancytopenia and hyperlipidemia in rats.

pancytopenia, hyperlipidemia, cadmium chloride, cholesterol, Ricinus communis