Table 4.
Villus height, crypt depth, villus height-to-crypt depth ratio and viscosity of the jejunal digesta of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with graded levels of α-amylase.1
| Item | α-amylase, KNU/kg |
SEM | Linear | Quadratic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 80 | 160 | ||||
| Villus height, μm | 709.6 | 914.3 | 937.8 | 30.82 | <0.001 | 0.031 |
| Crypt depth, μm | 99.8 | 115.9 | 107.6 | 7.87 | 0.495 | 0.225 |
| VH:CD | 7.5 | 8.1 | 9.0 | 0.73 | 0.179 | 0.872 |
| Viscosity | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0.06 | 0.023 | 0.388 |
Abbreviations: CD, crypt depth; VH, villus height.
1
Data are least square means of 8 replicate cages per diet.