Nutritional and Immunomodulatory Activities of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the Treatment of Diarrhoea in Albino Rats Infected with Escherichia Coli 0157:H7

Abstract

Nutrition refers to the study or intake of food considered in relation to the body’s dietary needs while immunomodulation refers to changes in the activity of the immune system caused by factors inhibiting the functions of the immune system, hence, studies aimed at modifying the immune response to prevent infections. In this present study, the effectiveness/imunomodulatory effect of extra virgin olive oil (EOO) supplementation in the diet of experimental animals (albino rats) infected with E scherichia coli 0157:H7 to cause diarrhoea was studied. Effects of EOO on weight gain and haematological profile of mice was also monitored. E. coli counts were performed in both animal stool (feces) and urine. For the experiment, 16 albino rats were assigned at random to four (4) groups designated as A, B, C, and D, (four animals per group) and all were aged between 4-6 weeks. The rats were acclimatized for ten (10) days and subsequently monitored for seven (7) days (experimental period). The result of the experiment showed that the infectivity dose of E. coli 0157:H7 in albino rats was 1.7×103 Cfu/ml. The animals in groups A-C were inoculated orally (1.7×103Cfu/ml/mouse) while animals in group D were used as control. Loss in weights occurred in animals when infection set. The E. coli 0157:H7 infection caused diarrhoea which was treated with extra virgin olive oil (A), chloramphenicol (B), Not treated at all (C). The treatment with extra virgin olive oil was however not as effective as the standard antibiotic (chloramphenicol) in infected animals. The haematological profile of the rats revealed high Red Blood Cell counts (RBC), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Heamoglobin (Hb), low White Blood Cell counts (WBC) and WBC differential counts revealed higher lymphocyte counts, low neutrophil and monocyte counts, normal counts for eosinophils and basophils when compared with the control group (D). Also the only microorganisms isolated from the extra virgin olive oil (EOO) were identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis. The results obtained in this study has shown that extra virgin oil has antibacterial property and that it was able to cure diarrhoea caused by E. coli 0157:H7 in albino rats.