Crude oil pollution of the environment occurs on a daily basis through different modes. This has become even more pronounced in the oil-mineral producing areas of the Niger Delta of Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effect of Bonny light crude oil on serum cholesterol and testosterone in Wistar albino rats, and to ascertain its possible endocrine disrupting effect on the reproductive hormone, testosterone. Eighty Wistar rats aged 15 to 17 weeks and weighing 193.6 to 220.0 g were used, and the experiment lasted for 28 days. The result showed that free testosterone was found to significantly decrease in all the groups among the male animals, except the control. However, a slight increase was observed in the female serum testosterone among the experimental groups. This increase was not significant (p>0.05). The result also showed that the cholesterol concentration in the males showed significant decrease (p<0.05), while in the females across the groups, significant increase in plasma cholesterol concentration were observed relative to the control group. We therefore suggest that Bonny light crude oil might have the potential to alter testosterone activity and may be a possible reproductive endocrine disruptor.

Properties of red blood cells, especially cell size and red cell indices related to size, change with time in stored blood samples. Laboratory anticoagulants have certain drawbacks. For example, heparin has no preservative property on whole blood while K 3 EDTA (EDTA) is toxic and damages platelets. The search for novel anticoagulants with better hematological profile is therefore necessary. The anticoagulant properties of aqueous leaf extract of Euphorbia heterophylla (aka ito in Igbo) were compared with those of K 3 EDTA. Specifically, the effect of this extract and K 3 EDTA on packed cell volume (PCV) and red cell indices related to size, when they were used as anticoagulants, were compared. 0.5 ml of serial dilutions of this extract were placed in specimen bottles containing 2 ml fresh human whole blood and stored for 15 days at 4°C. For control, 2 ml fresh human whole blood was added to specimen bottles containing 1.5 mg/ml EDTA and stored for 15 days at 4°C. Thereafter, the test and control samples were analyzed for PCV, MCV, MCH and MCHC using haematology autoanalyser (Erma Inc, PCE-210). All concentrations of the extract used, except 65 mg/ml, and the K 3 EDTA were able to keep the blood samples in fluid state throughout the 15 days period of storage. At the level of significance, p < 0.05, this extract had comparable preservative effect on MCV and MCH (p = 0.79; 0.20), but less preservative effect on PCV and MCHC when compared with EDTA (p = 0.013; 0.049). The aqueous leaf extract of Euphorbia heterophylla has preservative properties on haematological indices of stored human whole blood compare to that of K 3 EDTA. The fact that it does not chelate calcium as its mechanism of anticoagulation gives it an advantage over K 3 EDTA when used for biochemical tests. It should therefore, be explored as alternative laboratory anticoagulant in view of this advantage.