The Effect of Oat Hay, Alfalfa Hay, and Their Combined Diets on the Morphology and Function of the Pancreas in Preweaning Yak Calves

作者：Yang Jiao, Yanan Zhou, Shujie Liu, Deyu Yang, Jilan Li, Lu Sun, Zhanhong Cui · 发表于：Animals · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.3390/ani13020293 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Infant Nutrition and Health、Animal health and immunology、Digestive system and related health

In this study, we used a combination of animal nutrition and nontargeted metabolomics to investigate the effects of feeding different sources forages rations on the morphology and function of the pancreas in preweaning yak calves, providing theoretical guidance and important references for the healthy and high-quality rearing of yak calves. At 45 days old, 21 yak calf males were divided into OP, AP, and AOP groups, with seven animals in each group, which were fed with oat hay, alfalfa hay, and mixed oat and alfalfa hay, respectively. Five calves from each group were selected randomly to slaughter after a pretest period of 21 days and the official period of 120 days, when the average daily feed intake reached 1 kg. During the test, the growth and pancreas weight of yak calves were recorded, and the morphology and function of the pancreas tissues were determined using tissue sectioning methods, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests, and nontargeted metabolomics strategies. The results showed that the body weight and pancreatic organ index of yak calves in the AOP group were significantly higher than those of the AP and OP groups. Compared to the AP and OP groups, the AOP group had considerably lower ratios of the area of the pancreatic endocrine component and overall percentage of that section of the organ, and the AOP group increased pancreatic amylase activity and a higher concentration of growth inhibitor. The AP group had significantly higher levels of the differe...