Effects of dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil and flaxseed on gastrointestinal tract morphology and digestive enzyme activities in cashmere goat lambs
MAKETALA
LIU Shulin
YAN Sumei
SHI Binlin
ZHAO Yanli
GUO Yongmei
XIN Yu
GUO Xiaoyu
Abstract：This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil and flaxseed on the morphology of the compound stomach and small intestine,as well as digestive enzyme activities in cashmere goat lambs.A total of 60 healthy,four-month-old weaned castrated male lambs with similar body weight were randomly divided into three groups,with four replicates per group and five lambs per replicate.The control group(group CON)was fed a total mixed ration(TMR,with a concentrate-to-forage ratio of 50∶50).The flaxseed oil group(group FLO)was fed TMR+flaxseed oil.The supplementation levels of flaxseed oil during the early,middle,and late fattening stages were 2.23%,2.23%,and 2.79%,respectively.The flaxseed group(group FLS)was fed TMR+heat-treated flaxseed(replacing an equivalent amount of flaxseed oil based on an oil extraction rate of 36%).The pre-test period was 14 days,and the formal test period was 90 days.The results showed that the activities of lipase and amylase in the ileum and the rumen wall thickness in group FLO were significantly higher than those in group CON(P<0.05),the duodenal villus width and the lipase activities in the duodenum and jejunum were significantly higher than those in group FLS(P<0.05).The duodenal crypt depth in group FLS was significantly higher than that in group CON(P<0.05),whereas the muscular layer thickness of the reticulum wall and the ileal crypt depth were significantly lower than those in group CON(P<0.05).For the lambs,the villus height in jejunum,villus width in ileum,villus height to crypt depth ratio in jejunum,and trypsin activities in the duodenum and pancreas showed a pattern:Group FLO>group CON>group FLS(P<0.05).The chymotryp activity in the duodenum of lambs showed a pattern:Group FLO>group FLS>group CON(P<0.05).The study shows that dietary flaxseed oil improves growth and development in the rumen,duodenum,and jejunum of lambs,and stimulates the secretion of digestive enzymes in the duodenum and ileum.In contrast,the inclusion of flaxseed conversely inhibits the development of the rumen,reticulum,omasum,and small intestine,and also impedes the secretion of certain digestive enzymes in the small intestine and pancreas.
Keywords：flaxseed oilflaxseedgastrointestinal tract morphologydigestive enzyme activitiescashmere goat
Publication Date：2025-12-16
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-31(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1-5 )