Biochemical and haematologic effects of intake of Macrotermes nigeriensis fortified functional diet.

Twenty-four male albino rats, 4 weeks old were randomly distributed into 4 groups (A-D) and fed growers' mash as the control diet and 25, 50 and 75% oven-dried, ground Macrotermes nigeriensis fortified diets respectively for a total period of 28 days. The effects of the diets on hepatic, renal and haematologic function indices of albino rats were studied. The animals fed the fortified diets had non-significantly (p > 0.05) lesser body weight gains than the control animals. The fortified diets elicited dose-dependent increases in the levels of blood total protein, albumin, packed cell volume, hemoglobin and red blood cell counts as well as on the calculated red cell indices. The fortified diets did not significantly (p > 0.05) alter the activities of plasma alanine and aspartate aminotransferases as well as the concentrations of total bilirubin, urea and creatinine. The results indicate that the fortified diets do not have detrimental hepatic, renal or haematologic effects but rather may be recommended for fortification of human and animal food, especially in weaning diets of growing children and nursing mothers to combat food insecurity and malnutrition.