Effects of high plant cowpeas (Vigna unguculata) and animal (casein) protein intake on kidney morphology

Abstract

The relationship between high protein diet and morphological changes of the kidney in animal model has been established, but the emphasis has been on animal proteins. In developing countries like Nigeria, cowpea which is high in protein is one of the common sources of protein and because of its availability and cost it is highly consumed by the general populace. It is the aim of this study to determine the effect of the intake of plant (cowpeas) and animal proteins (casein) as high protein diets on renal morphology.
One hundred and seventy Wistar rats were used in this study; the rats were randomly distributed into 8 experimental groups (20 per group) and control (10). They were fed the experimental diets for six months at three months 10 from each group were sacrificed and the remaining 10 sacrificed at 6 months, the right kidneys were removed and put in formal saline for histological analysis.
Results show varied damages in renal tubular epithelium, glomeruli and arteries in rats fed with the casein diet. However, rats fed with the cowpeas constituted diets only showed mild morphological changes. This study has shown that, high casein diet, an animal protein, results in morphological changes in the kidney, while intake of cowpeas a plant protein only resulted in mild morphological changes.

Keywords: High animal, plant, protein, kidney, morphology