Morphological Changes in Mink Small Intestine when Using a Biologically Active Additive

Abstract

Introduction. In fur farming, there arise problems negatively effecting quality of the end products. One of them is malnutrition. Therefore, the researchers are studying the diets composition of furbearing animals and the possibility of using feed additives. However, very little attention is paid to the effect they have on the morphological structures of internal organs, in particular, the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.The aim of the research was to study the small intestine morphometric parameters when using the biologically active additive "Emprobio" at different periods of ontogenesis.Materials and methods. The small intestine of the minks of different age groups: newborns, two-, fourand eight-month-olds was the object of the study. To study the morphometric parameters, the macroand micromorphometric methods were used.Results. The relative thickness of the small intestine mucous membrane to the total thickness of the intestinal wall in minks at birth was 60.4 %. By the age of two months old, it increased by 0.9% in the experiment group and on the contrary decreased by 2.1 % in the control one. At the age of 2–4 months old, this parameter increased to 61.3% in the experiment group and to 58.3 % in the control group. At the age of 4–8 months old, it decreased in both groups, but by the end of the experiment it increased by 2.7 % in the experiment group, by 0.5 % in the control one. By the age of two months old the height and diameter of the glands have slightly and equally increased in both groups. At the age of 2–4 months old, the height of the glands increased to the maximum: by 5.1 times in the experiment group and by 4.7 times in the control one. In the same period, the decrease of glands diameter growth rate was observed, the diameter increased only by 1.6 times in both groups. At the age of 4–8 months old, the growth rate of the glands height and diameter slowed down even more in both groups: the height increased by 1.3 times, the diameter by 1.1 times, respectively. The height of the villi had been increasing during the whole period of experiment: by 5.9 times in the experiment group; by 6.2 times in the control one.Discussion and conclusions. The growth rate of the most morphometric parameters was the highest in animals treated with the product "Emprobio", which indicated the positive effect of this biologically active additive on the structures of minks small intestine.