Table 3.
Effect of the in ovo RFO prebiotic treatment on intestinal structure and duodenum histomorphology of 21- and 42-day-old broiler chickens.
| Day of Rearing | Day 21 | ANOVA | Day 42 | ANOVA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RFO | Control | p | RFO | Control | p | |
| Body weight (g) | 750.9 a ± 22.9 | 744.7 a ± 9.2 | 0.338 | 2249.6 a ± 535.9 | 2168.6 a ± 103.2 | 0.570 |
| (mm) | ||||||
| Length of D | 24.9 a ± 2.5 | 25.2 a ± 1.4 | 0.687 | 28.7 b ± 2.6 | 31.9 a ± 1.7 | <0.001 |
| Length of J | 61.9 a ± 3.7 | 60.1 a ± 3.4 | 0.194 | 65.7 b ± 4.5 | 75.8 a ± 5.0 | <0.001 |
| Length of I | 61.3 a ± 5.2 | 57.8 a ± 7.9 | 0.162 | 67.1 b ± 3.4 | 74.6 a ± 5.0 | <0.001 |
| Length of cecum | 26.1 a ± 2.6 | 25.7 a ± 2.4 | 0.649 | 35.8 b ± 3.0 | 38.8 a ± 2.9 | 0.009 |
| Length of colon | 8.3 a ± 1.0 | 8.0 a ± 0.5 | 0.275 | 8.7 b ± 0,7 | 10.4 a ± 0.9 | <0.001 |
| Weight of D (g) | 6.8 a ± 1.0 | 7.3 a ± 0.6 | 0.121 | 12.4 b ± 1.7 | 13.9 a ± 1.4 | 0.011 |
| Weight of J (g) | 12.6 a ± 1.7 | 13.1 a ± 1.3 | 0.390 | 23.3 b ± 3.3 | 27.5 a ± 5.0 | 0.010 |
| Weight of I (g) | 10.5 a ± 1.5 | 10.5 a ± 1.1 | 0.938 | 19.3 a ± 2.5 | 21.2 a ± 3.2 | 0.073 |
| Weight of cecum (g) | 3.8 b ± 0.8 | 4,5 a ± 1,0 | 0.029 | 11.6 a ± 1.9 | 11.9 a ± 2.5 | 0.743 |
| Weight of colon (g) | 2.0 a ± 0.7 | 1.8 a ± 0.4 | 0.545 | 3.2 b ± 0.4 | 4.0 a ± 0.5 | <0.001 |
| Villus height (µm) | 1281.0 a ± 160.4 | 1333.9 a ± 114.6 | 0.308 | 1586.8 a ± 199.7 | 1437.2 b ± 94.4 | 0.014 |
| Villus width(µm) | 137.6 a ± 16.3 | 106.4 b ± 7.9 | <0.001 | 111.2 a ± 7.5 | 118.8 a ± 19.8 | 0.175 |
| Villus surface area (µm) | 549,263.3 a ± 63431.3 | 442,127.3 b ± 46013.5 | <0.001 | 549,100.6 a ± 78401.0 | 538,983.8 a ± 107540.2 | 0.771 |
| Crypt depth (µm) | 140.4 a ± 8.2 | 124.0 b ± 11.5 | <0.001 | 166.1 a ± 28.8 | 178.4 a ± 11.2 | 0.135 |
RFO—group injected with raffinose family oligosaccharides at day 12 of egg incubation; Control—group injected with physiological saline (0.9% NaCl); ANOVA—Analysis of Variance; D—duodenum, I—ileum, J—jejunum. a,b mean values with the same letter are not significantly different at p ≤ 0.05..