OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of the "multi-mixture", consisting of powdered eggshell, powdered cassava leaf and wheat bran (1:1:8), as a vitamin and/or mineral supplement in the promotion of weight gain in undernourished rats. METHODS: After weaning, 56 Wistar rats which had been submitted to under-nutrition since birth, were divided randomly into 7 groups, according to the diet supplied, namely: control, vitamin deficient, mineral deficient, vitamin and mineral deficient, vitamin deficient supplemented with "multi-mixture", mineral deficient supplemented with "multi-mixture", and vitamin and mineral deficient supplemented with "multi-mixture". The recorded weight gains during the treatment period, together with the protein efficiency ratios and the food efficiency ratios, were taken as indicators of the efficiency of "multi-mixture" as a vitamin and/or mineral supplement. RESULTS: After 28 days, gains in body weight and the values of protein efficiency ratios and food efficiency ratios were significantly lower (p<0.05) than those of the control group for all treatment groups except for that fed on vitamin deficient supplemented with "multi-mixture". The lowest indicator levels were observed in the group fed on mineral deficient: supplementation of this diet with "multi-mixture" lead to significant improvements in weight gain, protein efficiency ratios and food efficiency ratios, but to values still below those obtained for the control group. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that supplementation with "multi-mixture" of diets low in nutritional value can provide the required vitamins, but only part of the mineral requirements of undernourished rats.
egg shell; protein malnutrition; cassava leaf; vegetable mixtures; rats; dietary supplements
