Effects of increasing neutral detergent fiber in swine diets on the morphology of digestive and non-digestive organs

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of including 0% or 8% of neutral detergent fiber in swine rations on the histological aspects of gastrointestinal segments of starting and growing-finishing pigs. It was employed cross-bred animals fed isoproteic and isoenergetic ad libitum rations in a completely randomized experimental design. At the end of each experiment, animals were slaughtered, eviscerated and pieces from digestive organs prepared for histological studies. For starter animals, the fibrous diet increased significantly the cecal glandular volumetric proportion; reduced the goblet cell volumetric proportion on jejunum epithelium; and enhanced the intensity of mucous production by duodenal and colonic mucous cells. By the end of finishing period, the pigs fed fibrous diets showed increased glandular surface area on cecal epithelium but slight reduction of mucosal cell surface area on the colon. These data suggest an epithelium adaptation, possibly a protective mechanism against the abrasive action promoted by the continuous feeding of dietary fiber to swine, particularly in the starting period.