Morphological Alterations of the Small Intestine Mucosa Following Oral Administration of Cadmium in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Teshfam, M., Gharagozlou, M.J., Salaramoli, J. and Hassanpour, H. 2006. Morphological alterations of the small intestine mucosa following oral administration of cadmium in broiler chickens. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 29: 65–68.

To assess the effect of cadmium (Cd) in feed, one hundred day-old male Ross breed broilers were purchased and divided into four groups randomly. Group one (C) had no Cd, whereas, those of groups 2, 3 and 4 had similar rations containing 5, 50 and 100 ppm cadmium as CdCl², respectively. At 49 days, all chicks were sacrificed and intestines examined. Cd supplementation caused reduction in leaf like villi and increase in convoluted villi. Villus width and crypt depth had decreased on Cd supplementation. A reduction in body weight of birds given 50 or 100 ppm Cd could have been a result of altered intestinal mucosa.

Keywords:

• Cadmium
• intestine
• villus
• morphology
• chicken