RÉSUMÉ
Background: Aluminium, one of the abundant elements present in nature enters human body through diet, food packaging material and medication. Aluminium can induce toxicity by causing oxidative damage and by altering the function of membrane bound ATPases, Salacia oblonga, a woody climbing plant with vast geographical distribution in India possess various biological functions. Previous studies have shown a protective effect of S. oblonga on Al induced visceral toxicity. Our aim is to evaluate the effect of S. oblonga extract on aluminium induced oxidative organ damage and haematological changes Methods: The experimental animals, Wistar albino rats, were divided into four groups of 6 per group. The four groups are divided into distilled water, Aluminium chloride, Salacia oblonga extract and aluminium and Salacia oblonga. On 37th day animals were sacrificed and organs and blood were collected for assessment of ATPase activity, protein levels and haematological parameters. Results: Salacia oblonga increased the ATPase activity in the brain, heart and lungs, improved the protein levels and haematological parameters which were deteriorated by Al toxicity. Though statistically insignificant S. oblonga improved the ATPase enzymes and haematological parameters. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that Aluminium causes membrane damage in various organs by altering the membrane ATPases level as a result of oxidative stress and altered the haematological parameters. We demonstrated that S. oblonga ameliorates Al induced membrane toxicity and also confers hemoprotective effect.