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The use of dyes in beverage food and drinks has increased in recent times, due to their dual role as nutritional and
therapeutic supplement. This study sought to assess the ability of dye extracts from the heartwood of Pterocarpus
erinaceus (African Rosewood) to ameliorate cyclophosphamide- induced toxicity in rat’s brain and liver and
assess the antioxidant properties of the dye extract in vitro. The dye was prepared from the heartwood part of P.
erinaceus and yielded red colourant. Wistar strain albino rats were placed on diet containing 0.5 and 1.0% red dye
prepared from P. erinaceus for 14 days. However, intraperitoneal administration of cyclophosphamide (75 mg/kg
of body weight) 24 hours before the termination of the experiment, caused a significant (P<0.05) increase in brain
malondialdehyde (MDA) content and serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and
alkaline phosphatase in rats fed diet without the dye supplement; while, there was significant decrease (P < 0.05)
in brain MDA content and serum enzyme activities in rats fed diet with the dye supplement. The high protective
effect of the dye could be attributed to its high antioxidant properties as typified by its high reducing power, free
radical scavenging and Fe2+ chelating ability. Dietary supplementation of P. erinaceus as food colorants could
ameliorate toxicities induced by cyclophosphamide.
Keywords: Pterocarpus erinaceus; dye; food colourant; cyclophosphamide; antioxidant; brain; liver