. 2023 May 9;102(7):102773. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.102773

Table 3.

Effects of reduced-protein diets supplemented with arginine or branched chain amino acids on jejunal morphology in broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria spp. on d 21 and 28.

		D 21			D 28
		VH¹	CD¹	VH:CD¹	VH	CD	VH:CD
Means for the main effect of challenge²
NCG (-)		1,153^a	168^b	7.14^a	1,440	160^b	9.19^a
CG (+)		984^b	236^a	4.45^b	1,378	192^a	7.38^b
Means for the main effect of diets³
PC		1,073	201	5.60	1,434	184	8.05
NC		1,106	199	6.23	1,343	177	7.74
ARG		1,032	209	5.63	1,446	164	9.11
BCAA		1,063	199	5.72	1415	179	8.24
Means for the interaction effect
-	PC	1,102	174	6.52	1,442	179	8.32
-	NC	1,251	162	7.96	1,333	155	8.65
-	ARG	1,070	160	7.09	1,582	153	10.4
-	BCAA	1,189	177	6.97	1,404	153	9.40
+	PC	1,044	229	4.67	1,425	189	7.79
+	NC	962	236	4.49	1,353	200	6.83
+	ARG	994	257	4.16	1,311	174	7.82
+	BCAA	936	220	4.47	1,425	205	7.08
Source of variation
Challenge		0.003	<0.001	<0.001	0.478	0.049	0.031
Diet		0.700	0.943	0.735	0.481	0.332	0.151
Interaction		0.140	0.446	0.518	0.102	0.260	0.330
SEM		64.3	17.2	0.593	75.5	13.7	0.709

^a,b

Means within a column lacking a common superscript differ (P < 0.05).

VH, villus height (μm); CD, crypt depth (μm).

NCG, nonchallenged group; CG, challenged group.

PC, positive control with 20.0% crude protein content; NC, negative control with 17.5% crude protein content; ARG, negative control supplemented with arginine at 50% above breeder recommendation; BCAA, negative control supplemented with BCAA at 50% above breeder recommendation.