Table 3.
Effect of diet on blood indices in piglets fed the experimental diets and sampled on d 21 (n = 8)ab
| Item | Gluconic acid (g/kg) | SEM | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 9 | 18 | |||
| Haematology on whole blood | |||||
| Red blood cells (1012/L) | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 0.1 | 0.872 |
| Haematocrit (%) | 35.9 | 37.3 | 35.7 | 0.6 | 0.478 |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL) | 10 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 0.2 | 0.457 |
| Mean corpuscular volume (fL) | 56.8 | 61.8 | 57.5 | 1 | 0.092 |
| Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (pg) | 15.8 | 17 | 16.5 | 0.2 | 0.116 |
| Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (g/dL) | 27.9 | 27.7 | 28.6 | 0.2 | 0.204 |
| Reticulocytes (%) | 1.53 | 1.43 | 1.79 | 0.16 | 0.66 |
| White blood cells (K/μL) | 94 | 88.1 | 110.1 | 9.7 | 0.651 |
| Lymphocytes (%) | 28.8a | 26.5a | 18.2b | 1.5 | 0.005 |
| Monocytes (%) | 47.8 | 46.7 | 45.7 | 1.3 | 0.817 |
| Neutrophils (%) | 8.1 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 0.4 | 0.283 |
| Eosinophils (%) | 42.7 | 41.6 | 42.5 | 1.5 | 0.955 |
| Basophils (%) | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.115 |
| Lymphocytes (K/μL) | 0.19 | 0.17 | 0.19 | 0.02 | 0.964 |
| Monocytes (K/μL) | 13.2a | 12.3ab | 8.3b | 0.8 | 0.028 |
| Neutrophils (K/μL) | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.173 |
| Eosinophils (K/μL) | 11.3 | 11 | 7.8 | 0.7 | 0.06 |
| Basophils (K/μL) | 0.32 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.04 | 0.24 |
| Thrombocytes (K/μL) | 0.053 | 0.049 | 0.03 | 0.006 | 0.229 |
| Mean platelet volume (fL) | 400 | 310 | 397 | 25 | 0.256 |
| Biochemical indices | 11.2 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 0.2 | 0.046 |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) | 83.5 | 79 | 77.8 | 2.1 | 0.504 |
| NEFA c (mmol/L) | 0.052 | 0.069 | 0.068 | 0.007 | 0.521 |
| Total protein (g/L) | 46.7 | 45.1 | 44.4 | 0.6 | 0.247 |
| Urea (mmol/L) | 3.8a | 2.6b | 2.6b | 0.2 | 0.003 |
aPiglets were sampled on d 21
bMeans within row without common superscript are significantly different, P < 0.05
cNon-esterified fatty acids