NUTRITIONAL AND ANTI-DIARRHOEAL POTENTIALS OF PROBIOTICFERMENTED FORTIFIED WEANING BLENDSINMALE WISTAR RATS

Abstract

Complementary foods are used for transition of infants from a mother’s breast-milk preparatory to regular foods. Many food blends including costly foreign and locallyproduced ones have been adopted for weaning infants. However, most of the locally produced ones have doubtful nutritional values and could predispose infants to malnutrition and possibly diarrhoea. Hence, this study was designed to develop a nutritious complementary blend with attendant antidiarrhoeal properties from locally sourced materials. Millet-based gruels containing cowpea, groundnut and Moringaoleifera(dried leaves) blends formulated at 70:25:5:0 (F1), 70:24:5:1 (F2), 70:23:5:2 (F3), 70:22:5:3 (F4), 70:21:5:4 (F5) and 70:20:5:5 (F6) were spontaneously fermented for 72 hours and analysed for nutritient composition using standard methods. From spontaneously fermenting formulations, Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) were isolated, characterised and screened for probiotic potentials including pathogenic bacterial inhibition using microbiological techniques. The best probiotic starter-fermented blend was prepared and analysed for nutritional composition using standard techniques. Nutritional and antidiarrhoeal potentials of best starter-produced blend were determinedon male Wistar rats (5 per group, weight≈133.46 g) after 28 and 14 days, respectively. In the nutritional experiment, groups 1-4 were fed with Conventional Food (CF), Fermented Blend (FB), Fermented Blend+Probiotics (FBP) and Nutriborn (Control). The weight gain, haematological parameters and liver enzymes were determined using standard techniques. Diarrhoea was induced in rats using castor oil through oral gavage. Groups (1-5) were uninduced rats treated with CF (UCF), induced rats treated with CF (ICF), induced rats treated with CF+Loperamide HCl-Tm (ICFL), induced rats treated with FB (IFB) and induced rats treated with FBP (IFBP). The haematological (blood), oxidative stress and histopathology alterations (colon tissue) were determined in the sacrificed rats using standard procedures. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and ANOVA at α0.05. The F4 had the best nutritional quality (50.87 g/100g moisture, 10.27 g/100g crude protein, 1.60 g/100g ash, 30 mg/100g phytic acid and 17.57 GAE/g polyphenol). Of the 128 LAB, Lactobacillus plantarum-MCB4, Lactobacillus plantarum-MCB18 and Lactobacillus pentosus-MCB47 possessed best probiotic potentials. The selected non-haemolytic L. plantarum-MCB18 survived 4 hours incubation in 0.50% bile; showed 58.30% cell surface hydrophobicity and high antagonistic activity against selected pathogens. The Lactobacillus plantarum-MCB18fermented blend F4 (FB) had 5.11% moisture, 20.17% crude protein, 1.14±0.12 mg/L calcium, 0.70 mg/100g thiamine, 0.42 mg/100g riboflavin, 5.52±0.01 g/100g phenylalanine and 436.71 Kcal/100g metabolisable energy. Groups 3 (16.44%) and 4 (23.72%) had significant increase in weight gain, while haematological variables, aspartate transaminase,alkaline phosphatase and alanine transaminase levels were normal. Packed cell volume (48.00±0.7 and 43.00±0.0%), haemoglobin (16.35±0.46 and 14.23±0.10 g100mm-1), red blood cell count (×106mm-1): 7.95±0.29 and 7.34±0.04 in IFB and IFBP, respectively were normal and significantly higher compared to ICF. Glutathione (29.06 µM/mg protein), catalase (43.76 µM/mg protein) in IFBP and nitrite (5.49 µM/mg protein) in IFB significantly increased relative to ICF. Colon tissues of rats of IFB and IFBP had no remarkable vascular change compared to negative occurrence in group ICF. Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum-MCB18-fermented millet-based formulation supplied adequate nutrients for healthy growth and conferred therapeutic effect against diarrhoea in male Wistar rats.