Improving Body Weight, Serum Albumin and Total Protein of Undernourished Rat Model after Milks-Based and Fish-Soy-Based RUTF Intervention

This title has been presented on Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 13.30-13.40 GMT+7.

Abstract

This title has been presented on Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 13.30-13.40 GMT+7.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) was developed for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in under five children.  However, the efficacy of the RUTF on the undernourished rat model needs to be observed. This study investigated the effects of milk-based and fish-soy-based RUTF on body weight, serum albumin and total protein in undernourished rat models. Using a laboratory experiment with a factorial randomized group design, 31 male Wistar rats were divided into three intervention groups: control (standard diet), low protein (5% protein), and low protein-energy (30% diet restriction). After 21 days of inducing malnutrition, each group received randomly assigned milk-based or fish-soy-based RUTF. The results revealed that there was a significant improvement of body weight, serum albumin and total protein in both groups into the normal levels. Statistical analysis showed that no significant differences between both groups of RUTF intervention in terms of bodyweight (p = 0.904), serum albumin (p = 0.645) and serum total protein (and p = 0.504). This study suggested that sustainable production of RUTF from local natural resources in Indonesia such as soy bean and fish can result in improvement of nutritional status of undernourished animal model, which can be further studied in human subjects.