Haematopoietic Effects of Amloki (<i>Emblica officinalis</i>) in Pregnancy with Iron Deficiency Anaemia

Due to poverty and ignorance more than half of the pregnant women in developing country are suffering from iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). Different gastrointestinal side effects cause low compliance to iron supplementation. Amloki (Emblica officinalis) is very popular among pregnant women for its taste and traditional belief of well-being. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of amloki on RBC, WBC and Platelet count. Prospective comparative study was carried out on patients of Outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital from July 2016 to June 2017. A total of 43 pregnant women between the 13th to the 20th weeks of gestation with IDA were selected aged 18 - 36 years in this study. Anemic pregnant women supplemented with oral iron and amloki were considered as study group (A) and control group (B) were with only iron supplementation for 45 days. Total count of RBC, WBC and platelet were done in the Department of Hematology & BMT Unit, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka. For statistical analysis, Paired Student’s “t” test and Unpaired Student’s “t” test were considered using SPSS 22.0 version. A significant increase (p < 0.05) of blood RBC count was observed after intervention of iron in both groups. There was also significant increase in RBC count in iron + amloki supplemented group than that of only iron supplemented group. In this study, there was also increase of WBC count in iron + amloki supplemented group and decrease of platelet count in both groups, but these changes were not statistically significant. It can be concluded that oral amloki supplementation causes increased blood RBC count in IDA with pregnancy.