Results
Weight Gain and Feed Intake: Weight gain and feed intake are shown in Table 1. Rats fed 5% peanuts had the
highest weight gain among all groups; however, rats fed the control had the lowest weight gain. Rats fed 10%
peanuts had the lowest feed intake compared to the other groups, whereas the highest feed intake was seen in
rats fed 5% walnuts.
Cecal Weight and Cecal pH: Cecal weight and cecal pH are shown in Table 2. Rats fed control had significantly
(p < 0.05) lower cecal weight compared to the treatment groups, whereas rats fed peanuts at 10% had the
highest cecal weight among all groups. The highest cecal pH was seen in rats fed control and the lowest was
seen in rats fed 5% peanuts.
Aberrant Crypt Foci: Aberrant Crypt Foci are shown in Table 2 and Table 3. ACF found in the proximal colon
was significantly (p < 0.05) lower compared to those found in the distal colon. The highest number of ACF
was seen in rats fed control. Rats fed control had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher number of ACF comp to those
fed the treatment except in rats fed 5% walnuts. Among treatment groups, rats fed walnuts at 5% hadRats fed the control diet had significantly (p < 0.05) lower SOD activity (82.42 ± 3.01) compared to those fed
diets containing nuts. In fact, SOD activity (U/mg) in rats fed the treatment diets was 3 - 6 fold higher compared
to those fed control. The groups fed (5% and 10%) walnuts had significantly (p < 0.05) higher SOD activity
(U/mg) (529.38 ± 6.84 and 576.57 ± 10.42) compared to the rats fed (5% and 10%) peanuts (293.5 ± 5.06 and
466.95 ± 8.5). The groups fed walnuts and peanuts at the higher (10%) level had significantly (p < 0.05) higher
SOD activity (U/mg) compared to their counterparts fed nuts at the lower (5%) level (Table 4). SOD activity
ranged from a low of 293.5 in rats fed 5% peanuts to a high of 576.57 in rats fed (10%) walnuts.