Psidium guajava

Liver disease is a major health problem in all countries, especially in developing countries. The drugs available to treated liver disease may cause further damages. There is an urgent need of some herbal medicines to treat liver disease without causing any further damages. Psidium guajava is one of the important plant in the Myrtaceae family. P. guajava which was reported the antibacterial, antidiarrhoeal, antihyperglycemic, antimalarial, cytotoxic, antioxidant activity etc. The aim of this review to compile the data of the hepatoprotective activity of a P. guajava extract in a recent years.

This research work evaluated the effects of Psidium guajava leaf extract on differential white blood cell count, % Packed Cell Volume(PCV) and Hemoglobin (Hb) concentration in acute -induced inflamed wistar rats. The study involved the use of forty five rats (in two groups) and were each divided into various subgroups (5mg/kg, 10mg/kg, 15mg/kg of extract and aspirin and control groups), with average weight of 150-270g. The initial, inflamed, and treated values of rats paw volumes were taken and after inducing inflammation with egg albumin and after a period of administration of the extract and aspirin, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected. The results obtained at the end of the experiment showed that there were differences in values (i.e. initial, inflamed and treated). There was an increase in %PCV, WBC, Hb concentration after administration of extract and aspirin which led to a decrease in inflammatory effect. The effect may be due to the anti-inflammatory components present in P. guajava leaf and stem bark extracts which not only inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators but equally have multiplier effects on acutely low hematologic parameters. Based on these results, it is clear that P. guajava extracts possess components that sustain prompt recovery of these hematologic parameters during inflammation, a possible mechanism of action of its anti-inflammatory effect on animals.

In an effort to scientifically appraise the mechanism of action of Psdium guajava stem bark and leaves, the present study was carried out to investigate the cell membrane stabilizing anti-inflammatory activities of methanol extracts of psidum guajava on experimental animal model at three different dose levels – 5mg/kg, 10mg/kg and 15mg/kg. Aspirin (10mg/kg) was used as standard reference cell membrane stabilizing agent for comparison. This research work was carried out using Wistar strain albino rats weighing 150g-175g. The extractive inhibited heat- induced haemolysis of erythrocytes in vitro. The methanol extract of Psidum guajava stem- bark demonstrated 89.23%, 93.94% and 103.66% inhibition while the leave extract demonstrated 51.40%, 51.43%, 61.40% and 44.29% of hemolysis of RBC caused by heat, in a dose- dependent manner – 5mg/kg, 10mg/kg and 15mg/kg respectively. Results were considered significant at p ≤0.05.

In spite of wide spread biological uses of Psidium guajava, there is a dearth of information on its hepatoprotective activity especially during inflammation. This work was therefore conducted to evaluate the effects of methanolic stem bark and leave extracts of the plant on acute-phase proteins during acute-phase response in rats. Forty albino Wistar rats (twenty in each group) were divided into two groups (stem bark and leave extracts). Inflammation was induced using egg albumin while treatment with the extracts commenced as soon as the inflammation was established and this lasted for 90 minutes. Initial, inflammation and recovery phase blood samples were obtained for analysis of acute-phase proteins (Albumin & C-reactive protein) using standard methods. Even though the stem bark extract showed more potent effects on both parameters in either dose-dependent and time-dependent fashions, both were perpetuating their anti-inflammatory potency through significant reduction on C-RP and increment on Albumin levels purporting a possible mechanism of action for anti-inflammatory activity of Psidium guajava. Results were considered significant at P≤0.05.