ACTIVITIES OF Na+ K+-ATPase IN THE LIVER OF NORMAL AND PROTEIN UNDERNOURISHED RATS FED WITH DIET CONTAINING COCONUT OIL

Thesis Abstract

The attempt of this study is to investigate the activities of sodium-potassium ATPase in the liver of normal and protein undernourished male weaning rats fed with diets containing coconut oil. Twenty weaning male rats were grouped into four groups, five rats for each. Group A were fed with normal diets, Group B were fed with low protein diets containing 5% casein, Group C were fed with normal diets and coconut oil and Group D were fed with low protein diet and coconut oil. After feeding for a period of six weeks, the rats were sacrificed using cervical dislocation. The liver was harvested and homogenized in iced cold buffer and centrifuged at 4000rpm for 15 minutes. The pellets were discarded and the supernatant was stored.

The result of this study shows that activities of activities of sodium-potassium ATPase in the rat liver were significantly reduced when fed with normal with coconut oil diets compared to normal diets only. However, it was observed that the activities of sodium-potassium ATPase in the rat liver were significantly increased when fed with low protein diets compared to normal diets only. The activities of sodium-potassium ATPase in the rat liver when fed with low protein and coconut oil remain constant against the normal diet, as there was no reaction occurring after a successful evaluation of the results. This result indicates that coconut oil inhibited the activity of sodium-potassium ATPase in the rat liver