A Study on the Nutritional Effects of Boiling Water Extracts of Mugwort Powder in Rats

This study was intended to observe some nutritional effects of the boiling water extracts of mugwort powder in albino rats. Forty young male albino rats of Sprague-Dawley strain, body weight of were employed for the experiment. They were divided into 5 dietary group, 0 (control), 1, 2, 4, and 8g% mugwort powder extract supplemented into the control diet, and fed each corresponding diet to the rats for 4 weeks. They were observed on intake of food and protein, efficiencies of food and protein, amount of energy intake, growing rate, and levels of hematocrit and hemoglobin in the blood. The amount of intakes of food, protein and energy was the highest in the group fed on 4g% mugwort extracts supplemented diet than any other groups studied. The efficiencies of food and protein in the groups fed on mugwort extracts supplemented diets were all lower than that of the control group. The growing rate of the group fed on 1g% mugwort extracts supplemented diet was the highest, however, there was no significant difference among them. The levels of hemoglobin of the groups fed 4g% or 8g% mugwort extracts supplemented diet was higher than that of the control, but not significant.