Blood Differential Count effects of Diplazium polypodioides Blume, Diplazium maximum (D.Don) C. Chris. and Stenochlaena palustris edible fiddlehead ferns from Northern Luzon Philippines on ICR mice (Mus musculus)

Diplazium polypodiodes, Diplazium maximum locally called sarabat 1 and 2 respectively and Stenochlaena palustris or red-fern fiddlehead extracts were evaluated on blood cells of ICR mice. Thirty-two (32) twelve-week-old mice were divided into eight treatments with four per treatment along with positive and negative controls. Mice were fed daily for four weeks with regular food, water plus extracts in low dose (40mg/kg) and high dose (80mg/kg) of sarabat1, sarabat2, and red-fern. Blood was extracted by tail tipping on Day 0, 14, 28 and complete blood count (CBC) with platelets was analyzed. Hematocrit and red blood cells (RBC) was elevated in the positive control but not significantly different with fern extracts with a p-value of 0.119 and 0.208, respectively. White blood cells indicated the negative control and low dose fern extract with mean values of 11.75 and 13.07, respectively, were slightly higher but not significantly different with a p-value of 0.185. Effects on neutrophil and absolute lymphocyte counts follow the same trend with a p-value of 0.249 and 0.119, respectively. Platelet seems elevated in low dose sarabat 1 and 2 as well as low dose red fern but not significant with a 0.370 p-value. Comparison of pre and post-test treatments with extracts of Sarabat 1, 2 and red fern on blood counts at two dosages showed that  a mong the parameters tested, only WBC showed a highly significant (0.002) variation at post-treatment which seemed to indicate WBC stimulation which alerts us to caution, while the rest of the differentials are within safe reference parameter ranges. published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB