Table 5.
The effect of partial replacement of fish meal with whey protein concentrate on morphometric measures of the intestine (µm) of Nile tilapia fingerlings.
| Parameters | WPC0 | WPC13.8 | WPC27.7 | WPC41.6 | WPC55.5 | Regression Analysis * | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linear | Quadratic | ||||||
| At the experimental end | |||||||
| Villus height | 158.92 ± 12.28 | 174.47 ± 19.47 | 179.86 ± 16.11 | 237.86 ± 12.76 | 267.98 ± 37.05 | 0.001 | 0.323 |
| Villus width | 83.13 ± 5.57 | 92.01 ± 17.69 | 92.57 ± 8.68 | 69.13 ± 9.94 | 57.62 ± 9.59 | 0.047 | 0.133 |
| Crypt depth | 93.18 ± 6.41 | 68.01 ± 12.92 | 61.23 ± 6.04 | 58.15 ± 7.73 | 48.43 ± 6.12 | 0.001 | 0.277 |
| Goblet cells | 14.40 ± 1.43 | 15.20 ± 2.26 | 9.60 ± 0.67 | 16.00 ± 2.70 | 14.20 ± 2.05 | 0.94 | 0.36 |
| Lymphocytic count ** | 193.20 ± 16.746 | 205.00 ± 7.328 | 216.00 ± 12.075 | 131.60 ± 19.816 | 55.20 ± 1.960 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| After bacterial challenge | |||||||
| Villus height | 188.97 ± 12.04 | 183.99 ± 21.56 | 165.01 ± 7.511 | 240.56 ± 10.65 | 270.50 ± 46.42 | 0.01 | 0.08 |
| Villus width | 72.21 ± 10.36 | 57.10 ± 2.96 | 129.88 ± 33.54 | 81.69 ± 16.99 | 94.60 ± 15.34 | 0.25 | 0.36 |
| Crypt depth | 56.63 ± 7.13 | 60.10 ± 10.21 | 49.40 ± 7.20 | 50.08 ± 10.48 | 37.38 ± 3.61 | 0.07 | 0.49 |
| Goblet cells | 54.00 ± 6.26 | 97.20 ± 8.35 | 7.80 ± 0.73 | 24.60 ± 1.46 | 12.40 ± 2.11 | 0.00 | 0.80 |
| Lymphocytic count ** | 269.20 ± 20.901 | 242.20 ± 19.871 | 276.20 ± 23.155 | 289.20 ± 66.560 | 102.60 ± 11.303 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
* The regressions were considered significant when p ≤ 0.05. ** Lymphocytic count/field in high magnification 400x.