Macedonian Veterinary Review

Original Scientific Article

The influence of different food types on the morphological characteristics of rat small intestines

Nedžad Hadžiomerović

Fuad Babović

Anel Vejzović *

Aida Bešić

Elvir Čičkušić

Nejra Dučić

Muhamed Katica

Mac Vet Rev 2025; 48 (1): i - ix

10.2478/macvetrev-2025-0010

Received: 16 May 2024

Received in revised form: 28 August 2024

Accepted: 10 October 2024

Available Online First: 23 December 2024

Published on: 20 December 2024

Correspondence: Anel Vejzović, anel.vejzovic@vfs.unsa.ba

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Abstract

Multiple studies have shown the importance of adequate nutrition for animals and humans and its effect on overall health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different nutritional regimes on the intestinal health of rats by evaluating different morphological and morphometric characteristics of small intestines, with the emphasis on the villus height:crypt depth ratio (V:C). For the experimental study, 24 clinically healthy adult Wistar rats were used. The rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: the control group (group A) was fed with conventional food, the second group (group B) with bakery products, and the third group (group C) with meat products. Samples of the duodenum and jejunum were collected for detailed morphological and morphometric analysis. A significant increase in the duodenal villi height was reported in group B (661.59 μm) and C (602.83 μm) compared to the control group (475.34 μm). The crypt depth values in the jejunum were significantly higher in group B (191.41μm) and C (246.23 μm) compared with the control (145.14 μm). The jejunal V:C ratio was significantly lower in groups B and C. The study showed significant morphological changes in the intestinal parameters in rats fed predominantly with meat and bakery products. These findings could be applicable in both veterinary and human medicine, underlining the significance of consumed food on gut health.

Keywords: diet, intestines, morphology, rats

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Copyright

© 2024 Hadžiomerović N. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declared that they have no potential lict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 48, Issue 1, Pages i-ix, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2025-0010