HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Murakami, A. E. Articles by Franco, J. R. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Murakami, A. E. Articles by Franco, J. R. G.

Supplementation of Glutamine and Vitamin E on the Morphometry of the Intestinal Mucosa in Broiler Chickens

A. E. Murakami^*,1, M. I. Sakamoto^*, M. R. M. Natali, L. M. G. Souza^* and J. R. G. Franco^*

^* Department of Animal Science, and Department of Morphophysiological Sciences, State University of Maringá, 87020-900 Paraná, Brazil

¹ Corresponding author: aemurakami{at}uem.br or mizumiss{at}yahoo.com.br

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the influence of Gln and vitamin E (VE) supplementation in the diet of broiler chickens (Cobb-Vantress) on the morphometry of the intestinal mucosa. The design was completely randomized in a 2 x 3 (VE x periods of administering Gln) factorial arrangement. The levels of VE used were 10 and 500 mg/kg of diet and 3 periods of administering (1%) Gln-supplemented starter diet (for the first 7 or 14 d of life or for no added Gln), totaling 6 treatments with 5 replicates of 50 birds per experimental unit. In the growth period (d 22 to 41 posthatch), the treatments consisted only in the respective levels of VE. On d 7, 14, 21, and 41 posthatch, 2 birds per replicate were killed, and samples of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were subsequently removed, fixed in Bouin solution, and later embedded in paraffin and stained with hematoxylin-eosin. The parameters analyzed were villus height and crypt depth. An ANOVA was applied to the obtained data, and the means were compared using Tukey’s test (5% significance level). Greater development was observed in the duodenum, followed by the jejunum and ileum. On 41 d of life, diets with 10 mg of VE/kg supplemented with Gln (for the first 7 d of life) provided better development of the intestinal mucosa in broiler chickens.

Key Words: broiler chicken • crypt depth • small intestine • villus height