. 2021 Jun 16;7(3):762–769. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2021.01.005

Table 7.

Effects of dietary acidifier supplementation on the small intestine mucosal morphology of broilers.¹

Item	NC	NC + antibiotic (8 mg/kg)	NC + PA (0.1 g/kg)	NC + PA (0.2 g/kg)	NC + PA (0.3 g/kg)	NC + LA (0.3 g/kg)	SEM	P-value
Duodenum
Villus height, μm	416.42	445.55	444.43	440.83	426.18	433.28	3.82	0.18
Crypt depth, μm	122.42	126.12	124.62	127.02	127.60	129.72	1.14	0.57
VH:CD ratio	3.40^b	3.54^a	3.57^a	3.47^ab	3.34^b	3.34^b	0.02	<0.01
Jejunum
Villus height, μm	349.53^c	381.35^ab	368.60^abc	356.63^bc	381.95^a	370.08^abc	3.60	<0.05
Crypt depth, μm	116.10^b	128.32^ab	116.82^b	117.13^b	130.50^a	124.23^ab	1.78	<0.05
VH:CD ratio	3.03	2.97	3.20	3.05	2.93	2.97	0.04	0.35
Ileum
Villus height, μm	318.00	309.78	315.37	311.90	309.93	313.48	1.88	0.81
Crypt depth, μm	109.88	114.45	113.80	113.57	108.12	115.52	1.34	0.59
VH:CD ratio	2.90	2.70	2.78	2.75	2.88	2.74	0.03	0.19

NC = negative control (basal diet); PA = phosphoric acid; LA = Lactic acid; VH:CD ratio = villus height-to-crypt depth ratio.

^{a, b, c} Within a row, values with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (P < 0.05).

Each value represents the mean of 6 replicates (n = 6).