Abstract

Mixed spiced diet (MSD) composed of Zingiber officinale (ginger), Allium sativum (garlic) and Piper guineense (black pepper) was used to investigate its influence on hematological properties, and lipid profile of guinea pigs. A total of forty-eight animals were divided into five groups to represent control, and different diet groups. Feeding was done twice daily for 8 weeks while analysis was taken once every 2 weeks. Hematological indices studied include packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell count (WBC) and red blood cell count (RBC). Lipid values determined include cholesterol (CHO), triglycerol (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), and low density lipoprotein (LDL). The result shows that the values of CHO, TG and LDL generally decreased in all the diet groups with time as compared to control, and some of the decreases were significant (P ≤ 0.05). However, the values of HDL increased in the diet groups. Similarly, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, PCV, WBC and RBC values all decreased though not significant (P ≤ 0.05) in all the diet groups as compared with the control. The implication of this study is that the hypolipidemic effect of MSD, and the individual spices could be of practical importance in the management of coronary heart diseases. Also, the decreases in the values of hematological parameters are not high as to be attributed to any possible blood disorder.

Key words: Spiced diet, hematological properties, lipid profile, coronary heart disease, guinea pigs.