• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1770-1776
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• 2003

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of dietary glutamine (Gln) supplement on the performance and villus morphology of weaned pigs. In Exp. 1, 48 pigs were fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5% Gln for 28 days. Dietary Gln supplemented levels did not influence performance and plasma Gln concentration of weaned pigs. In Exp. 2, 48 weaned pigs were fed the same treatment diets of Exp. 1 for 7 or 14 days. Dietary Gln supplement reduced the ratio of small intestine weight to empty carcass weight at d 14 postweaning. However, the villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio at the duodenum were increased. IgA and protein in the bile from d 7 and d 14 postweaning were higher in the pigs fed the diet supplemented with 0.5% Gln. Plasma IgA concentration was not influenced by dietary Gln levels. In conclusion, dietary Gln supplement might benefit the development of the small intestine and bile IgA production in weaned pigs.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.752-762
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• 2022

Objective: Microencapsulation is a technique to improve stability, bioavailability, and controlled release of active ingredients at a target site. This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulated basil oil (MBO) on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility (AID), jejunal histomorphology, bacterial population as well as antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens in a tropical climate. Methods: A total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds), based on a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments were as follows: i) basal diet (NC), ii) basal diet with avilamycin at 10 ppm (PC), iii) basal diet with free basil oil (FBO) at 500 ppm, and iv) basal diet with MBO at 500 ppm, respectively. Results: Dietary supplementation of MBO improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas MBO did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. The broilers fed MBO diet exhibited a greater AID of crude protein and gross energy compared with those in other groups (p<0.05). Lactobacillus spp. and Escherichia coli populations were not affected by feeding dietary treatments. Both FBO and MBO had positive effects on jejunal villus height (VH), villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) and villus surface area of broilers compared to NC and PC groups (p<0.05). Superoxide dismutase level in the duodenal mucosa of MBO group was significantly increased (p<0.01), whereas malondialdehyde level was significantly decreased (p<0.01). Conclusion: Microencapsulation could be considered as a promising driver of the basil oil efficiency, consequently MBO at 500 ppm could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of intestinal integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broiler chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.539-550
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• 1996

Experiment was conducted to study the effect of sources of dietary fiber on the intestinal morphology of geese. Sixty white Roman geese of two-week-old were divided randomly into six groups and were fed with isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets which contain alfalfa meal, barley hull, rice hull, purified cellulose, lignin, or pectin as the major dietary source of fiber. Different sources of dietary fiber significantly influenced the villi height and the crypt depth in the duodenum, and the villi height and the muscle layer thickness in the ileum (p < 0.05). The duodenal villus in the geese that fed diets with alfalfa meal, rice hull or pectin supplemented were significantly longest ($968.5{\mu}m$), whereas the lignin group was significantly shortest villus and deepest crypt depth (p < 0.05). The thicknesses of the ileal and caecal muscle layer were significantly thicker in the geese fed with cellulose supplemented diets than in those fed with the other treatment diets. The caecum of the barley bran fed geese possessed significantly longest villi and the most thick muscle layers (p < 0.05). From scanning electronic microscopic observation, the leafy and plate-like in the duodenal villi morphology of geese represented a more effective nutrient absorption in the small intestine. The morphology of ileal villi in geese was similar from herbivorous rabbit and from the African Green monkey.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1300-1308
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• 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of phytogenic additive and antibiotic growth promoter in laying Japanese quails. One hundred and sixty five quails were divided into three groups of 5 replicates and 11 quails (8 females and 3 males) in each replicate. Treatment 1 was fed control diet, treatment 2 was fed control diet supplemented with 0.05% bacitracin methylene disalicylate as antibiotic growth promoter and treatment 3 was fed control diet supplemented with 0.1% phytogenic feed additive (PFA) for two periods of 3 weeks each from 37 to 42 weeks of age. Results showed that egg production, eggshell strength, eggshell weight, villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio were significantly (p${\leq}$0.05) increased and feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, albumen, Haugh unit, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, alanine transaminase, gamma glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, number of goblet cell, crypt depth and intestinal bacterial population of Coliforms, Salmonella and E. coli were significantly (p${\leq}$0.05) decreased in PFA fed group. It is concluded that addition of PFA containing phytomolecules and organic acids as main ingredients could significantly improve the production parameters and the general health of laying quails as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.599-602
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• 2006

The effects of ethanol extract from radish seeds on gastrointestinal function in rats were investigated. Rats were divided into 2 groups of 8 rats each, the basal group and the radish seed ethanol extract group. The radish seed ethanol extract group had a significantly decreased gastrointestinal transit time, but a significantly increased fecal weight compared with the basal group. The radish seed ethanol extract group also had significantly higher duodenal villus height and greater colonic mucosal thickness than the basal group. The radish seed ethanol extract group had a greater proliferation of 5-bromo-2-deoxy-uridine (BrdU) immunoreactive cells in the gastric mucosa as well as in the mucosa and submucosa of the small and large intestine than did the basal group. Thus, radish seed ethanol extract may be useful in preventing constipation based on the observation of an increase in fecal weight, a decrease in gastrointestinal transit time, and positive changes in the intestinal mucosa.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2005

An experiment was conducted to investigate whether dietary yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, SC) and its' structural components, i.e., yeast cell-extract (YE) and yeast cell-wall (CW) could influence growth performance, ileal morphology and serum lipids of male broiler chickens. There were four dietary treatments, each consisting of 6 replicates (10 birds per replicate). Chickens were fed a corn-soybean meal base control diet and diets containing SC ($0.5\%$), YE ($0.25\%$) and CW ($0.25\%$), respectively for 5-wk-experimental period. Dietary SC, YE and CW versus the control diet did not affect growth performance of male broiler chickens. Ileal morphology as to villus height, crypt depth and villus:crypt ratio of birds fed on the control diet was not significant from those fed on diets rich in SC, YE and CW, respectively. Dietary SC significantly lowered (P<0.05) serum total cholesterol by on average $19.7\%$ as compared to the control group. In addition, chickens fed on diets with either YE or CW lowered serum cholesterol by on average 15.3 and $12.5\%$, respectively as compared to the control albeit that the former only reached statistical significance. In conclusion, our study observed the hypocholesterolemic effect of SC in male broiler chickens. Moreover, YE, i.e., an extract of intracellular components of SC contains active molecules that are responsible far lowering serum cholesterol concentrations, but their identification at the molecular level needs to be assessed.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.151-160
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• 2024

Objective: The growing consumers' interest on animal welfare has raised the request of products obtained by alternative rearing systems. The present study was conducted to assess the influence of housing system on gut and muscle morphology and on microbial load in rabbits reared under free-range (FR) and cage system (CS). Methods: A total of forty weaned (35 days of age) male Italian White breed rabbits were allotted according to the rearing system, and at 91 days of age were randomly selected and slaughtered for the morphological evaluation of tissue from duodenum and longissimus lumborum. Morphometric analysis of the villus height, villus width, crypt depth, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and villus surface was performed. The microbial loads on hind muscle was determined by total mesophilic aerobic count (TMAC), Escherichia coli and Enterobacteriaceae; whereas, total anaerobic bacteria count (TABC) and TMAC, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae was determined on caecal content. Results: Rearing system did not interfere with the duodenum and muscle histomorphology in both rabbit groups. Similarly, microbial load of caecal content showed no significant differences on the TABC and TMAC. Conversely, significant difference was found for E. coli strains in caecal content, with the lower counts in FR compared to CS rabbits (p<0.01). Microbiological assay of muscle revealed significant lower TMAC in FR vs CS rabbits (p< 0.05). All rabbit meat samples were negative for E. Coli and Enterobacteriaceae. Conclusion: Free-range could be considered a possible alternative and sustainable rearing system in rabbits to preserve gut environment and muscle quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.992-1001
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of hot-melt extruded ZnO nano-particles (HME-ZnO) as an alternative for P-ZnO on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, Zn bioavailability, intestinal microbiota, and intestinal morphology of weanling pigs. Methods: A total of 450 piglets (Landrace×Yorkshire×Duroc) were randomly allotted to five treatments based on initial body weight and sex. The experimental diets were fed in a meal form as phase 1 from d 0 to 14 and phase 2 from d 15 to 28. Treatments were the control diet without ZnO supplementation, the diet containing 2,500 ppm Zn as ZnO, and three diets containing 500, 1,000, or 2,500 ppm Zn as HME-ZnO. Results: The overall result showed a higher (p<0.01) average daily gain in weanling pigs fed ZnO-supplemented diets in comparison to the control diet. There was a decrease (p<0.01) in fecal score in the ZnO-supplemented diets. Dietary supplementation of ZnO improved (p<0.05) crude protein digestibility. The weanling pigs fed the P-ZnO diet had a lower (p<0.01) Zn digestibility in the feces than HME-ZnO supplemented treatments. Weanling pigs fed diets supplemented with ZnO had greater (p<0.05) Lactobacillus spp. populations and lower Clostridium spp. (p<0.05) and Coliforms (p<0.01) populations in the ileum. Weanling pigs fed diets supplemented with increasing concentrations of HME-ZnO linearly decreased Clostridium spp. (p<0.05) and Coliforms (p<0.01) in the ileum. Lower (p<0.05) Clostridium spp. and Coliforms counts in the colon were observed in pigs fed with ZnO-supplemented diets. Weanling pigs fed diets supplemented with ZnO showed a greater (p<0.01) villus height in the duodenum. Conclusion: Dietary supplementation of HME-ZnO and P-ZnO showed a potential to improve the digestibility of protein, intestinal Coliform and Clostridium, villus height in duodenum and ileum. Moreover, HME-ZnO showed a higher Zn digestibility compared with P-ZnO.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

A total of 90 one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to one of the three dietary treatments, each consisting of six replicates (5 broilers/cage). The dietary treatments were 1) control (CON: fresh clean water with no supplement); 2) low dose [LD: CON + 1.56% extractions from the wooden chips (EWC)] and 3) high dose (HD: CON + 12.5% EWC). Drinking water supplemented with EWC was provided using specifically designed individual nipple drinker units. Average daily water intake (ADWI), average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured weekly for 21 days. One broiler from each cage was euthanized for measuring the visceral organ weights and collecting ileal tissue samples for ileal architecture analysis on day 21. Broilers assigned to the LD and HD watery groups showed higher ADWI than that in broilers consumed CON on day 7 (P<0.05). The broilers subjected to HD treatment showed a deeper crypt depth (P<0.05) than that in broilers subjected to LD and CON on day 21. Therefore, broilers consumed HD showed a lower (P<0.05) villus height:crypt depth ratio than that broilers consumed CON on day 21. Broilers provided drinking water containing any of the tested concentrations of EWC showed no effect (P > 0.05) on growth performance, ileal villus height, and visceral organ weights as compared with those in the CON from hatch to 21 days. In conclusion, broilers fed HD showed reduction in villus height:crypt depth ratio without impairing growth performance and visceral organ weights for the experimental period.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2017

Objective: In the present study, role of increasing levels of Ecklonia cava (seaweed) supplementation in diets was investigated on growth performance, coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of nutrients, serum immunoglobulins, cecal microflora and intestinal morphology of weanling pigs. Methods: A total of 200 weaned pigs (Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire${\times}$Duroc; initial body weight $7.08{\pm}0.15kg$) were randomly allotted to 4 treatments on the basis of body weight. There were 5 replicate pens in each treatment including 10 pigs of each. Treatments were divided by dietary Ecklonia cava supplementation levels (0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, or 0.15%) in growing-finishing diets. There were 2 diet formulation phases throughout the experiment. The pigs were offered the diets ad libitum for the entire period of experiment in meal form. Results: The pigs fed with increasing dietary concentrations of Ecklonia cava had linear increase (p<0.05) in the overall average daily gain, however, there were no significant differences in gain to feed ratio, CTTAD of dry matter and crude protein at both phase I and phase II. Digestibility of gross energy was linearly improved (p<0.05) in phase II. At day 28, pigs fed Ecklonia cava had greater (linear, p<0.05) Lactobacillus spp., fewer Escherichia coli (E. coli) spp. (linear, p<0.05) and a tendency to have fewer cecal Clostridium spp. (p = 0.077). The total anaerobic bacteria were not affected with supplementation of Ecklonia cava in diets. Polynomial contrasts analysis revealed that villus height of the ileum exhibited a linear increase (p<0.05) in response with the increase in the level of dietary Ecklonia cava. However, villus height of duodenum and jejunum, crypt depth, villus height to crypt depth ratio of different segments of the intestine were not affected. Conclusion: The results suggest that Ecklonia cava had beneficial effects on the growth performance, cecal microflora, and intestinal morphology of weanling pigs.