Changes in serum lipid profiles of weaner rabbits fed diets fortified with processed Garcinia kola seed

Abstract

Background: A fifty-six (56) day experiment was conducted at the small animal experimental unit of Federal College of Wildlife Management, New-Bussa, Niger State to determine the effect of fortifying the feed of weaned rabbits with graded levels of Garcinia kola (G. kola). Methods: Forty unsexed New-Zealand white rabbits weighing between 0.90-0.92kg used for this experiment were randomly distributed into five dietary treatments tagged T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The experimental rabbits were fed with Iso-Caloric and Iso-Nitrogenous diets that are rich in lipids with a very high metabolizable energy (M/E). Rabbits in T1which served as the control were fed plain diets not fortified with G. kola. Rabbits in treatments 2 to 5 were fed diets fortified with graded level of processed G. kola seeds at 5g/100g, 10g/100g, 15g/100g and 20g/100g respectively and the animals were fed at 10% of their body biomass by monitoring the weight on weekly basis. Results: Data obtained from this study revealed that feeding of weaner rabbits with feed fortified with powdered G. kola seed produced a significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent serum-lipid lowering effects as compared to the control group, this may be mediated by some of the phytochemical and nutritional constituents of G. kola. The phytochemical analysis revealed that values of Tannin Flavonoids, Saponin and Alkaloids ranges from 5.94 ± 0.58%, 1.57 ± 0.37%, 3.46 ± 0.365% and 6.58 ± 0.38% respectively while the results of the Proximate analysis revealed that G. kola seed contained 8.51 ± 0.045% Moisture, 2.39 ± 0.420% Protein, 4.65 ± 0.365% Ash and 75.91 ± 2.265%NFE. Conclusion: This research work has revealed that G. kola seed has a hypolipidemic effect when consumed and that consumption of G. kola seed may help in the reduction of the incidence of cardiovascular.