Table 5. Gut organ growth and stomach pH of 17 d-old rats after gavage feeding a microbial-derived protease in increasing doses, or water (control) during 14–16 days of age.
| Stomach | Stomach | SI | Proximal SI | Distal SI | Cecum | Pancreas | Liver | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| weight | pH | length | weight | weight | weight | weight | weight | |
| Groups | mg/g b.wt | cm/g b.wt | mg/g b.wt | mg/g b.wt | mg/g b.wt | mg/g b.wt | mg/g bwt | |
| Control | 6.2 ± 0.2 | 4.4 ± 0.6 | 1.4 ± 0.1 | 15.7 ± 1.6 | 13.2 ± 1.8 | 2.3 ± 0.2 | 3.2 ± 0.2 | 32.5 ± 2.5 |
| Protease, mg/g b.wt: | ||||||||
| 0.0625 | 6.1 ± 0.3 | 4.1 ± 0.2 | 1.5 ± 0.0 | 16.4 ± 0.8 | 13.3 ± 1.4 | 2.3 ± 0.2 | 3.0 ± 0.4 | 31.7 ± 1.1 |
| 0.125 | 6.4 ± 0.3 | 4.1 ± 0.4 | 1.5 ± 0.1 | 17.6 ± 1.5 | 14.7 ± 1.1 | 2.6 ± 0.31 | 3.2 ± 0.3 | 32.8 ± 1.7 |
| 0.25 | 6.3 ± 0.4 | 3.4 ± 0.7 | 1.6 ± 0.1** | 19.3 ± 2.0** | 15.4 ± 1.7* | 3.0 ± 0.2*** | 3.4 ± 0.4 | 33.0 ± 1.6 |
| 0.5 | 6.9 ± 0.7 | 3.4 ± 0.6* | 1.8 ± 0.1*** | 28.2 ± 1.7*** | 18.6 ± 1.0*** | 4.2 ± 0.1*** | 5.0 ± 0.2*** | 38.5 ± 2.4 |
The organ results (mean ± SD, n = 5–6) are presented per gram body weight (g b.wt). Significant differences between protease-fed and control groups are indicated by
* P < 0.05,
**P < 0.01,
*** P < 0.001; SI = small intestine.