RESUMO
The present investigation was performed to study the effect of daily administration [interperitoneal injection] of synthetic coloring agent amaranth at dose 50 mg /kg b.w. /day for two periods [7 and 21 days], using male albino rats. The effects of amaranth on growth, haematological and some biochemical parameters were examined throughout the study. The results revealed that amaranth treatment cause a marked change in treated groups when compared with control. They showed a significant decrease in percentage of body weight change, RBCs count, Hb concentration and HCT value, while, they recorded a significant increase in WBCs, serum activity of AST and ALP, in addition to serum urea and creatinine levels in treated rats. But ALT and bilirubin showed insignificant changes throughout the experiment