Hematological Indices of Experimental Rats Fed with Rat Chow Fortified with Processed Breadfruits

Background: The abundance of nutrients, vitamins, and fiber in breadfruit has been documented in many literature studies that can hardly be exhausted and are consumed majorly by the Igbos and other southern parts of Nigeria to ameliorate hunger.

Aim: This study however was aimed at determining the effect of feeds fortified with grilled, preboiled, and cooked breadfruit on hematological indices of wistar rats.

Methods: Hematological parameters were determined using an automated hematology analyzer (Mindray-BC-5300). The parameters analyzed include Hemoglobin (HGB), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red Blood Cells (RBC), Platelets (PLT), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), White Blood Cells (WBC), Neutrophils (NEUT), Lymphocytes (LYMPH), Monocytes (MON), Eosinophils (EOS) and Basophils (BAS).

Results: The result from the experiment indicated that all fortified groups showed no significant increase or decrease (p>0.05) in their HGB, PCV, RBC, PLT, MCV, MCH and MCHC when compared with their respective controls. The white blood cell, neutrophil and eosinophil concentrations of the experimental rats significantly increased (p<0.05) compared with the normal control group. A significant decrease (p<0.05) was observed in the lymphocyte and basophil concentration. The monocyte levels of the experimental rats showed a non-significant increase or decrease (p>0.05) in all the groups with respect to the normal control.

Conclusion: It may however be safe to infer that fortification of feed with breadfruit has no negative effect on the physiological status of the experimental animals as all the hematological parameters remained within range.