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ABSTRACT: The effects of three isocaloric leguminous based diets on the digestibility of neutral lipids and phospholipids in albino rats were investigated. Proximate analyses of each of the beans and formulated diets were carried out to determine crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, total ash, moisture and carbohydrate contents. A total of thirty (30) albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were used for the study. The rats were divided into three groups of ten rats each and maintained on Soyabean-Based Diet (SBD) (Control), Cowpea-Based Diet (CBD) and Hyacinth Bean-based Diet (HBD) for a period of five weeks. At the end of the experiment, the brain, liver, heart and the kidney of the rats were isolated and the neutral lipids and phospholipids contents of each organ were estimated. Rats maintained on Cowpea-Based Diet (CBD) had the lowest weight gain when compared with those fed on the HBD and SBD respectively. The results revealed that the neutral lipids and phospholipids of CBD show a significantly reduced (p<0.05) digestibility than HBD and SBD. The significantly reduced (p<0.05) digestibility of lipids in CBD may be considered to be partly responsible for the lower growth rate of rats maintained on this diet.
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 01/2008;
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ABSTRACT: The effects of dietary saturated fat on blood lipid and lipoprotein composition and lipid peroxidation were studied in rats. Male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were maintained either on diets with 5% fat supplements made of 5% soyabean oil or 5% coconut oil. Similarly, two other groups were fed diets that were isocaloric with the former but contained 25% fat supplements made of 25% soyabean oil or 25% coconut oil. The concentration of triacylglycerols in the plasma of the high coconut oil fed rats was three to six-times those of the others. The concentration of free cholesterol was much higher in the plasma of the coconut oil-fed rats. There were significant decreases in the plasma level of chylomirons, VLDL and HDL, but a significant increase in the LDL level of the coconut oil-fed rats. In all the tissues studied, the malondialdehyde level increased significantly in the coconut oil fed rats and most prominently in the liver and the kidney, while the reduced glutathione levels decreased significantly in the coconut oil-fed rats. It is considered that ingestion of coconut oil for a considerably long time may affect lipid metabolism and alter the structure and function of the enzymes responsible for converting the essential fatty acids to prostaglandins or their endoperoxide precursors. The increase in the malondialdehyde level and the decrease in the reduced glutathione level are indications of the lipid peroxidative effect of saturated fat diet, while the reduced HDL and high level of LDL can be major contributory factors to atherogenesis.
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 01/2007;
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ABSTRACT: Sixty day-old broiler chicks were used in a 4-weeks feed trial to determine the status of raw, roasted and fermented bambara groundnut. The raw and processed bambara groundnuts were used as the sole source of protein in a basal broiler chick starter diet. Soybean based diet served as the control. There were four (4) experimental groups each made up of five birds in three replicates, allocated to the experimental diets. Application of roasting and fermentation techniques were able to reduce the levels of some antinutrients in the bambara groundnut except for oxalate that increased significantly for the fermented sample. The results showed that the serum parameters like total protein, uric acid and creatinine levels indicated that both roasted and fermented based diet fed to the birds were unable to efficiently make available the nutrients in the diets to the birds. Serum transaminases (GOT and GPT) and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) showed significant (p<0.05) increase in the activity of the serum of birds fed on roasted and fermented bamabara groundnut based diet. It is therefore concluded that the quality of the protein of the raw and processed bambara groundnut based diet demonstrated inferiority relative to the soybean based diet.
International Journal of Poultry Science. 01/2007;
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ABSTRACT: The effects of Lysine and essential fatty acid deficiencies on bone growth and development were studied in the rat. Forty 19-day old female Wistar rats were divided into four groups of 10 rats each and fed the following diets respectively: (1) a diet adequate in both Lysine and EFA (+Lys+EFA); (2) a diet adequate in Lysine but deficient in essential fatty acid (+Lys-EFA); (3) a diet deficient in lysine but adequate in essential fatty acids (-Lys+EFA) and (4) a diet deficient in both essential fatty acids and Lysine (-Lys-EFA). Each group was placed on its diet for eight weeks. Bones were removed and the lipids estimated. (2) The mean body weights of rats on +Lys+EFA, -Lys+EFA and-Lys- EFA diets were 27.9, 37.2 and 49.7 per cent respectively less than those maintained on the control diet. The lengths and weights of the rat bones were found to decrease in the order: -Lys-EFA> -Lys+EFA> +Lys-EFA> +Lys+EFA. Acidic phospholipids were considerably reduced in proportion in the deficient rat bones. The molar calcium to phosphorus ratio of bones of rats placed on different deficient diets was significantly low when compared with the controls. It is believed that lysine deficiency accentuates EFA deficiency and that both deficiencies impair bone growth and development in the rat.
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 01/2007;
