Actions Of Fresh Red Palm And Cow Fat Blend Oil On The Hemogram Status Of Treated Wistar Rats

Abstract

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that blend oil could be more beneficial to health than the individual use of the oils. The red palm and cow fat oil are local dietary cooking oils commonly consumed as blend oil in Nigeria. Aim and Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the effect of the consumption of fresh red palm and cow fat blend oil on the hematological profile of treated wistar rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 rats weighing 150-250g were randomly divided into groups of 15 rats each. Group A served as normal control and were fed with pelleted growers feed. Group B were fed with pelleted feed mixed with 2ml/kg b.wt of red palm oil by oral gavage. Group C were fed with pelleted growers feed mixed with 2ml/kg b.wt of cow fat oil while Group D were fed with pelleted growers feed mixed with 2ml/kg b.wt of a blend of red palm oil and cow fat oil (1:1) by oral gavage. Animals were sacrificed after 28 days by euthanasia using chloroform. Three (3mls) of blood were collected by cardiac puncture into ethylene diamine tetra cetic acid container for the estimation of the hematological profile using automated cell counter (Coulter Electronics, Luton, Bedfordshire, UK). Data was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance in the statistical package for social science version 22(IBM Incorporated, Armok, NY). Results were presented as mean + standard deviation from the mean with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: There was a significant decrease in the white blood cell count (p = 0.001) of the rats treated with cow fat oil and those treated with a blend of red palm oil and cow fat oil compared to the normal rats and those treated with red palm oil. Similar result was recorded for the red blood cell count, hemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume (p=0.024, 0.033 and 0.019 respectively) for the rats treated with cow fat oil compared to those treated with red palm oil or a blend of red palm oil and cow fat oil as well as the normal rats. Conclusion: The consumption of cow fat oil may have a deleterious effect on the hematological profile of treated rats. This study therefore recommends the consumption of red palm oil instead of the blend of cow fat oil and red palm oil or cow fat oil alone which is a common practice in our daily diets.