Oral Administration of Euterpe oleracea Mart., Its Influence over Body Weight and Lymphoid Organs and Alterations in Haematological and Glycaemical Parameters

Aims: The aims of the study were to evaluate alterations caused by the oral administration of the aqueous extract of Euterpe oleracea to non-isogenic adult male mice during 15 and 30 consecutive days through the comparison of body and spleen weights, number of splenic and medullary cells, their hemogram and glycemia indices.
Study Design: Animals were divided into 8 groups (5 animals/group). Treated groups received the AEA concentration (125 mg/ml by gavage) at doses of 5, 50 and 500mg/kg for 15 and 30 days. The control group received only the vehicle of dilution (1x PBS) in volume of 0.5 ml. After treatment the animals were sacrificed in a CO2 chamber for testing.
Place and Duration of Study/Methodology: The aqueous extract of concentration of 125 mg/ml of lyophilized açaí pulp was prepared in Laboratory of General and Analytical Chemistry of Federal University of Amapá. Values of body weight, weight of liver and spleen, number of spleen and bone marrow cells, blood count and glucose of the mice were conducted on Drugs Research Laboratory between January and November of 2013.
Results: The statistical analysis was done by ANOVA test two-way with significance level p<0.05 in relation to control followed by Tukey post-test. The AEA caused significant changes in body weight, about 22% in animals treated with 500 mg/kg. Weight of spleen showed no significant changes, there was statistical difference in blood glucose levels between groups 5 and 500 mg/kg treated for 15 days and punctually in the 500 mg/kg group treated for 15 and 30 days. It was observed that the treatment with the AEA doses (5, 50 and 500 mg/kg) for 30 days increased the number of bone marrow cells. Regarding the number of spleen cells, treatment promoted changes, reducing the amount of cells during the 30 days of treatment, principally at the dose of 50 mg/kg. During the 15 day treatment of 500 mg/kg there was an increase in the number of spleen cells.
Conclusion: The treatment of mice with aqueous extract of açaí pointed that the concentration has significant influence in: 1) glucose concentration in the blood; 2) The increased number of bone marrow cells; 3) and the number of spleen cells. Thus, comparison between groups of animals was compatible with the hypothesis that the increase in body mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance.