Effect Of Composite Food Powder On Vitamin A Levels, Anaemia, Growth Status And Toxicological Effect In Sprague Dawley Rats

Abstract

Introduction: Animal experiments play essential roles in research and help alleviate new diseases or existing conditions. Animal models have helped in the advancement of our nutritional knowledge. Since malnutrition, especially micronutrient deficiencies, are a significant public health concern, animal studies can advance understanding in this area. Animal studies can assess the toxicity and effect of micronutrient powders before human consumption. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the Composite Food Powder on vitamin A levels, anaemia, growth status and toxicological effect in Sprague Dawley rats. The powder contains anchovies, carrot, eggplant and soybean. These foods combined will be rich in iron and vitamin A, making them an excellent strategy to treat micronutrient deficiencies. Methodology: Composite Foods Powder (CFP) (100g) was made with dried and powdered 15g anchovies, 50g turkey berry, 10g carrot and 25g soybean. The Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2005) standard procedure was used to determine the proximate composition of the CFP. β-carotene and iron analyses were determined by HPLC and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry methods, respectively. For the animal experimentation, twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to 2 groups, control (6) and experimental (14), for 28 days of investigation. The animals were weighed weekly. The length was measured on days 0, 7 and 15. After the animal was euthanised correctly, blood was taken by cardiac puncture on the 29th day for analysis. The kidneys and livers of the animals were isolated and processed for histopathological examination. Weight, length, haematological indices, serum retinol and biochemistry, were presented as means ± standard deviations. The histopathological analysis was presented in microphotographs. The significant difference in means between the groups was determined by independent t-test. Results: The blood analysis shows that the CFP contains 7.2mg/g β-Carotene and 5.28 iron, respectively. The mean weight of the control group was 161.37 ± 8.83 g, while that of the experimental group was 166.77 ± 7.91 g. The mean length for the control group was 19.03 ± 1.28 g, while that of the experimental group was 19.13 ± 1.00 g. No significant difference was observed across the control, and experimental groups for red blood cell count, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean cell volume and mean cell haemoglobin values. No significant difference was observed across the control and experimental groups for Lymphocyte per cent and number, Eosinophil per cent and number, monocyte number and per cent, neutrophil per cent and number and basophil number and basophil per cent. The serum retinol concentration was generally low among the experimental and control groups. The control group had 0.002 ± 0.001 103 μg, and the experimental group had 0.002 ± 0.001 103 ug. No significant difference was observed across the control and experimental groups for urea, creatinine, direct bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein, and albumin, except for total bilirubin. There was a significant difference between the control and experimental groups for total bilirubin. Conclusion: This study revealed that CFP made up of locally available food products, contains iron and β- carotene that could meet the micro nutritional needs of infants. The CFP was found to have no significant effect on the SD rats' growth indices and serum retinol. The CFP was shown to have no toxicity regarding haematological and biochemical markers and very few histopathological alterations in isolated organs.