Research Article

Actions of Red Palm Oil and Cow Fat Oil Blend on The Liver Function of Treated Wistar Rats

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of the consumption of fresh red palm and cow fat blend oil on the liver function of treated wistar rats. A total of 60 rats weighing 150-250g were randomly divided into 4 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 cow fat oil. 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 of a blend of red palm oil and cow fat oil.Animals were sacrificed after 28 days by euthanasia. Three (3mls) of blood were collected by cardiac puncture into plain bottles for the estimation of liver function parameters involving the Alkaline Phosphate (ALP), Alanine Transaminase (ALT), Aspartate Transaminase (AST), Total Bilirubin (TB) and Conjugated Bilirubin (CB) by standard methods. Results were reported as mean + standard deviation from the mean with P<0.05 considered significant. There was a significant increase in the ALP (P=0.003), ALT (P=0.015), AST (P=0.007), TB (P=0.022), CB (P=0.010) for the rats treated with cow fat oil compared to those treated with red palm oil, blend of cow fat and red palm oil and normal rats. These findings suggest that a blend of cow fat and red palm oil may pose a health risk to the liver of treated rats.