Hematological Studies on the Effect of Some Agents Used in Treatment of Thyroid Disorders in Rats

The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of ashwagandha root extract (ARE) and levothyroxine as anti-hypothyroidic agents in rats. Sixty male albino rats were used in this study and were divided into 6 equal groups; Group Ι: (CON) control that received saline 0.9 % NaCl solution (0.5 ml/kg b.w) orally for 8 weeks, Group ΙΙ: (ARE) received 500 mg/kg b.w of ashwagandha root extract orally for 8 weeks, Group ΙΙΙ: (LEV) received 20 µg/kg b.w of levothyroxine orally for 8 weeks, Group ΙѴ: (PTU) hypothyroidic control that was given 0.05% (w/v) Propylthiouracil orally for 8 weeks, Group Ѵ: (PTU+ARE) hypothyroidic rats treated with ARE for 4 weeks, Group ѴΙ: (PTU+LEV) hypothyroidic rats treated with LEV for 4 weeks. The results showed that PTU-induced rats had signs of normocytic normochromic anemia. Also, they showed a significant leukopenia, lymphopenia and monocytopenia, while, neutrophils and eosinophils had non-significant changes. Moreover, they showed a significant thrombocytopenia. However, hypothyroidic rats treated with either ARE and LEV showed improvement in the hematological parameters when compared to hypothyroidic untreated group. This suggested that ARE could be used as protective agent against hypothyroidism, likely due to its antioxidant properties.