The effect of polysaccharide of the great nettle on blood and hematosis of the laboratory rats

We investigated the influence of the great nettle polysaccharide on blood and hematosis in the laboratory rats. Polysaccharide has been isolated from air-dry raw material, its qualitative and quantitative monosaccharide composition has been determined. The effect of polysaccharide on blood of healthy animals has been studied on Wistar's rats. Blood samples were used both for erythrocyte and hemoglobin count, and determination of the total number and composition of leukocytes. Simultaneously, bone marrow isolated from the femoral bone was examined. Our results show that polysaccharide of the great nettle stimulates the processes of hematosis resulting in the increase of the total number of erythroblastic islets of bone marrow. Polysaccharide adiministration causes the increase of erythrocyte count and hemoglobin level, the increase of relative monocyte content throughout the experiment as well as the decrease of the total leukocyte count; the percentage of segmented neutrophils increases.