protective effect of solanum tuberosum against the breakdown of red blood cells: an experimental study in burn injury model

Introduction: anemia is known to be an important problem in burn injury. we aimed to investigate the protective effect of solanum tuberosum (potatoes), against abnormal breakdown of erythrocytes in burn injury.methods: ninetysix male (9 to 10 weeks old) swiss albino mice (34–40 g) were included into the study, which consisted of two phases: dose optimization phase (n = 48) and study phase (n = 48). half of the mice were given s. tuberosum juice (study group) and the other half drinking water (control group). the optimal dosage causing minimum decline in hematocrit was as follows: 1.6 ml/kg at 0 h, 0.8 ml/kg at 24 hours, and 0.8 ml/kg at 36 hours of burn injury. the burn injury was induced with a solid 10mm aluminum bar heated in boiling water.results: the decrease in hematocrit level was significantly lower in the study group than the control group at 24 and 48 hours (p = 0.05 and p = 0.023, respectively). the increase in anisocytosis, a hemolytic anemia sign, was also significantly lower in the study group than the control group at 48 hours (p = 0.021). there was no significant difference between groups in terms of clotting time or the bleeding time.conclusion: in burn injury, s. tuberosum may be beneficial against anemia and it may reduce the need for red blood cell transfusion.