Regulatory Activity of Ethanol Leaves Extract of Moringa Oleifera on Benzene Induced Leukemia in Wister Rat Using TNF-α Analysis

Medicinal plants are important elements of indigenous medicinal system that have persisted in developing countries. Compounds that are capable of interacting with the immune system to up regulate or down regulate specific aspects of the host can be classified as immunomodulators. This study aimed at determining the regulatory activity of ethanol extract of Moringa oleifera in leukemic wistar rats using Tumuor necrosis factor assay. Thirty adult wistar rats were divided into three groups each containing ten wistar rats. Intravenous injection of 0.2 mg/ml of benzene chromosolv was administered 48 hourly for four weeks. 0.2 ml of 100 mg/ml of ethanol extract of Moringa oleifera was administered orally pre, during and post leukemia induction. Group A (Normal rats), Group B (benzene administration only) and Group C (benzene + ethanol Moringa oleifera extract). After a total period of eight weeks, the plasma samples of each of the groups was collected and analyzed using TNF-α kit by ELISA technique. The result showed that there was no significant difference in TNF-α levels between all the groups. However there was a mean ± standard deviation difference between the groups; the group of rats induced with leukemia without treatment (leukemia control) with 229.38 ± 58.17 ng/L, those treated with EMO after induction of leukemia had a mean and standard deviation of 219.38 ± 18.52 ng/L while the normal control group 209.04 ± 17.51 ng/L. This study concluded that the anti-cancer properties of Ethanol extract of Moringa oleifera results in the down regulation of TNF-α as treatment of cancer occurs. Also TNF-α level may be indicative of the clinical efficacy of therapy