The effects of Cyperus esculentus (Tiger nut) on Haematological and Biochemical Profile of Male Hypercholesteremic Subjects in Uli, Anambra State Nigeria

Cholesterol, though needful in the body, when it is excess in the body can build up in the coronary arteries and increase the risk of heart diseases. This provoked our enthusiasm to research on plant material or nut that when eaten can knock down high cholesterol in the body. Tiger nut is one of such nuts. It is called “Aya’’ in Hausa “Ofio’’ in Yoruba, and “Akiausa’’ in Igbo. It contains high level of oleic acid which has the potentials to exert a negative effect on cholesterol present in the human blood. This encouraged the study using Tiger nut. 80 persons consisting of both male and female adults diagnosed of high cholesterol were randomly selected for this study. They were placed on the ingestion of tiger nut along with their normal diets for 14days. At the end of 28 days, blood samples were collected from them before and after the ingestion of tiger nut for biochemical and haematological analysis. Results of the analysis indicate that tiger nut did not have any effect on the haemoglobin concentrations, packed cell volume, white blood cell count, platelet count and liver function profiles,but it drastically reduced the cholesterol level of the subjects. It could be deduced from the study that tiger nut contains some active principles that can lower cholesterol levels in the subjects