Dose-Dependent Amelioration of Protein-Energy Malnutrition in Rats by Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Supplementation

Protein-Energy Malnutrition (PEM) is most prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, where 45% of child deaths were attributed to under-nutrition. Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) seed is known for its important phytonutrients. It is planted and mostly found in northern Nigeria, where there is a higher prevalence of malnutrition. This study demonstrates the potential of graded fenugreek seed supplementation, a locally available resource, for mitigating PEM-associated biochemical dysregulation. Sixty-three (63) female rats weighing between 50 and 70g were randomly grouped into six groups of ten (10) animals each. Group 1 was the control while all others were malnourished with low protein (4%) iso-caloric diet for four weeks, thereafter randomly grouped into group 2 which were untreated, group 3 which were fed withstandard commercial feed, while Groups 4, 5, and 6were fed with 25g/kg, 50g/kg and 100g/kg fenugreek seeds supplemented diets respectively for 4 weeks. There was significant (p˂0.05) reduction in all hematological parameters (which includes White Blood Cell (WBC), neutrophils, lymphocytes, Packed Cell Volume, and Mean Corpuscular Volume) of malnourished untreated rats whereas, alltreated groups significantly (p˂0.05) increased after treatment with fenugreek supplemented diets with the highest effect observed in the 100g/kg FG. Also, the serum protein was significantly (p˂0.05) reduced in malnourished rats by 43% when compared with the control, but was significantly increased after treatment with 100g/kg FG. In addition, the significant (p˂0.05) increase in Alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), as well as the significant (p˂0.05) decrease in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) observed in the serum of untreated rats were significantly (p˂0.05) reversed in the groups treated with fenugreek seed supplemented diets. Hence, a diet supplemented with fenugreek seeds was concluded to improve the biochemical parameters of malnourished rats in adose-dependentt manner.