Abstract
Malnutrition is associated with impaired growth, altered biochemical parameters and disturbances in haematological and histological indices. This study evaluated the effects of kenaf seed–soybean–sweet potato (KSP) blends on biochemical parameters, haematological and histological indices and body-weight changes in malnutrition-induced albino rats. Forty rats were allocated to eight experimental groups consisting of positive, negative and standard controls and five KSP treatment groups, with five rats per group. The animals were fed ad libitum, and body weight was monitored throughout the experimental period. Biochemical parameters included alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, creatinine and lipid profile indices. Haematological parameters included haematocrit, haemoglobin, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelet count, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin and for the histology; liver and the kidney were studied. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant effects of treatment group, time and their interaction on body weight before and after treatment (p < 0.0001). Following treatment, Groups 4 and 5 demonstrated the greatest reported improvements in body weight, with no significant difference between them (p =0.724). Group 3 recorded the highest mean haematocrit (48.3 ± 1.91%), haemoglobin (15.7 ± 0.764 g/dL) and red blood cell count (7.73 ± 0.132 × 10¹²/L). Biochemical responses varied across the treatment groups. These findings indicate that the KSP formulations were associated with different patterns of body-weight, biochemical and haematological responses. However, the variation across the measured parameters indicates the need for an integrated assessment before determining the most suitable formulation for further nutritional research.

Key words: Kenaf seed, Malnutrition, Soybean, Sweet potato.