Table 5.
Effects of β-alanine on intestinal morphology of weaned piglets.
| Item | β-alanine addition level1, mg/kg |
SEM2 | P-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 300 | 600 | 1,200 | |||
| Duodenum | ||||||
| Villus height, μm | 285.42 | 301.26 | 298.28 | 254.16 | 8.08 | 0.149 |
| Crypt depth, μm | 403.88 | 378.75 | 351.54 | 339.94 | 10.85 | 0.165 |
| VH:CD3 | 0.71 | 0.80 | 0.87 | 0.80 | 0.04 | 0.539 |
| Jejunum | ||||||
| Villus height, μm | 297.89 | 296.05 | 271.20 | 286.13 | 54.36 | 0.823 |
| Crypt depth, μm | 336.55 | 361.90 | 293.94 | 303.67 | 64.86 | 0.157 |
| VH:CD 3 | 0.90 | 0.85 | 0.95 | 1.03 | 0.05 | 0.682 |
| Ileum | ||||||
| Villus height, μm | 274.99b | 332.99a | 285.37b | 302.52ab | 7.76 | 0.041 |
| Crypt depth, μm | 284.77 | 295.91 | 290.66 | 292.85 | 5.57 | 0.923 |
| VH:CD 3 | 1.02 | 1.13 | 0.99 | 1.04 | 0.03 | 0.402 |
| Colon | ||||||
| Crypt depth, μm | 485.79 | 467.42 | 429.54 | 481.02 | 13.24 | 0.471 |
a,b Different superscript letters in the same row indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
1
Diets supplemented with 0, 300, 600, and 1,200 mg/kg levels, respectively.
2
SEM = standard error of the mean.
3
VH:CD = villus height to crypt depth ratio.