Erythrocyte osmotic fragility and general health status of adolescent Sprague Dawley rats supplemented with Hibiscus sabdariffa aqueous calyx extracts as neonates followed by a high‐fructose diet post‐weaning

High‐fructose diets (HFD) can cause oxidative damage to tissues including erythrocyte cell membranes. Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) has protective antioxidant properties. Rats were used to investigate whether the consumption of HS by neonates would result in long‐term effects on their erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) and general health when later fed a high‐fructose diet post‐weaning through adolescence. Eighty of four‐day‐old Sprague Dawley rat pups were divided randomly into three treatment groups. The controls (n = 27) received distilled water at 10 ml/kg b. w, while the other groups received either 50 mg/kg (n = 28) or 500 mg/kg (n = 25) of an HS aqueous calyx extract orally till post‐natal day 14. The rats in each group were weaned and divided into two subgroups; one continued on normal rat chow, and the other received fructose (20% w/v) in their drinking water for 30 days. Blood was collected in heparinised tubes and added to serially diluted (0.0–0.85%) phosphate‐buffered saline to determine the EOF. Clinical markers of health status were determined with an automated chemical analyser. HS extracts did not programme metabolism in the growing rats to alter their general health and EOF in response to the HFD.