Effects of consuming cooked, fresh and fried groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) on hematological parameters and renal markers in male Wistar rats

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is an annual legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is very nutritive and considered to be healthy for human diet because of its health benefits. However, individuals have been observed to react to its different processed forms. This study, as a two phase study, was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of cooked, fresh and fried arachis hypogaea consumption on hematological parameters and renal biomarkers in male Wistar rats. Forty male Wistar rats randomly distributed into 4 groups of 10 animals each in the control and experimental groups (Group A, B and C) were used for this study. Control group was fed with standard basal diet and water ad libitum throughout the research period, while Groups A, B and C were fed with 50% cooked, fresh and fried groundnut with 50% basal diet mixture and water ad libitum respectively for 30 days (Phase 1) after which they were all later fed with standard basal diet for another 30 days (phase 2). Blood samples were analyzed for hematological and renal biomarkers. This study revealed therefore the mixture of fifty percent groundnut and fifty percent standard feed consumption to influence some hematological parameters and urea and creatinine renal markers with a non-significant weight reduction in the groundnut treated groups. This study has also revealed the different forms of groundnut to vary significantly in phytochemistry and proximate analysis.

Key Words: Groundnut, Consumption, hematological parameters, renal biomarkers, Wistar rats