Iron and phosphorus utilization in rats fed soaked and dehulled bambara groundnut supplemented with sorghum or crayfish.

Thirty-six adult Wistar albino male rats (75-128 g) of age 8 weeks were used to study the effect of dehulled and soaked bambara groundnut combined with sorghum or crayfish on iron and phosphorus balances of rats fed for 10 days. Three out of the ten days were for adjustment and the rest for the balance period. Six diets were formulated and fed to the rats. The mixed protein diets provided 10% protein daily for the entire study period. Casein (CA) served as a reference protein. Rats fed the CA diet had significant decreases (p<0.05) in food intake, maintenance body weight, phosphorus intake and phosphorus balance when compared with those of the test groups. As judged by iron nutriture, dehulled brown bambara groundnut (DBGB) appeared to be superior to the white variety. Soaking seriously affected iron utilization in brown variety. Dehulling produced significant increases (p<0.05) in phosphorus balance in animals fed the white variety of bambara groundnut compared with the brown variety. On the other hand, soaking produced positive phosphorus balance in rats consuming the brown variety. Addition of crayfish produced a slight nonsignificant decrease (p>0.05) in rodents eating the brown variety. These results suggested that varietal difference and treatment affected iron and phosphorus utilization in rats fed bambara groundnut in conjunction with sorghum and/or crayfish.