Effect of uncoated and microencapsulated butyric acid on the diets of broilers challenged with Eimeria spp. on the count of intestinal goblet cells

• Grant number: 18/22986-9
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Effective date (Start): January 28, 2019
• Effective date (End): April 27, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Valquíria Cação Cruz-Polycarpo
• Grantee: Gabriela Ventura
• Supervisor abroad: Ramon Diniz Malheiros
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil
• Local de pesquisa : North Carolina State University (NC State), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/11745-8 - Free and protected butyric acid as an alternative to antibiotics in diets for broilers challenged with Eimeria spp., BP.MS

Abstract

The goblet cells present in villi and crypts of the intestine of birds, have an important function in the maintenance and development of the intestinal epithelium. The mucus secreted has the important function of protection against infections, preventing the contact of microorganisms with the epithelial cells. The aim of this research will be to evaluate the number of intestinal goblet cells, using uncoated and microencapsulated butyric acid to replace growth promoting antibiotics in diets of broilers challenged with Eimeria spp. For this, 1,320 male Cobb chicks were distributed in a completely randomized design with five treatments and six replicates. The treatments were: T1 - basal diet; T2 - basal diet + uncoated butyric acid; T3 - basal diet + microencapsulated butyric acid; T4 - basal diet + uncoated butyric acid + microencapsulated butyric acid; T5 - basal diet + antibiotic and anticoccidial. For the histological analyzes of the small intestine, at 14 and 21 days of age, segments of the duodenum and jejunum of six birds per treatment were collected. In the Laboratory of Nutrition in Prestage Departatment of Poultry Sciences at State University of North Carolina will be prepared slides of each segment, and then stained with Alcian blue and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS). The total number of goblet cells present in an area of 0.3 mm² mucous tunica of each animal will be quantified. Data analysis will be performed using SAS (2012) with a 5% significance criterion, and the treatments will be analyzed using orthogonal contrasts.