Abstract

The utilization of diets prepared from available and affordable plants (soya bean, groundnut, maize, and fluted pumpkin green leaves) and animal sources (milk, catfish, and crayfish), in the alleviation of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) was studied, to determine comparative dietary efficiencies of some fortified weaning formulae. The therapeutic diets used in alleviating PEM in the kwashiorkor-induced rats were the (SGMC) (prepared at 20% dietary protein level), (SMC) (prepared at 20% dietary protein), (SGMM) (prepared at 16% dietary protein level), and Rd (reference diet, Nutrend : Nestle ®, 16% protein level) diets. The experimental design for the treatment of kwashiorkor was a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Feeding of the kwashiokor-induced rats with the test diets caused a reversal of the earlier observed decreases in the parameters (growth performance, serum albumin, pack cell volume, NPU %) measured, in order of consecutive significant increase (p<0.05) as follows: SGMM< Rd<SGMC/SMC. Results were recorded as values of mean ± S.D unit, of the test dietary therapy groups,  SGMC/SMC, as follows : growth performance : (90.4 ± 0.5/87.0 ± 2.84 grams), serum albumin : (4.11 ± 0.31/4.09 ± 0.61g/l), pack cell volume (PCV%) : (49.05 ± 0.31/50.01 ± 0.21%), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) : (11.1 ± 0.05/10.95 ± 0.05U/l) and net protein utilization (NPU%) : (93.0± 1.96/95.0 ± 0.01%), respectively. SGMC and SMC alleviation diets, elicited significant regression at 5% level, of dietary group, growth performance (grams) and corresponding Net Protein Utilization % values of the weaning formulae, and achieved the most rapid catch-up growth rates in the kwashiorkor-induced rats. SGMC and SMC test diets are effectively, preventive and curative of protein energy malnutrition.

Key words: Protein energy malnutrition, kwashiokor, therapeutic diets, weaning formulae, experimental design.