EFECTO DE DIFERENTES NIVELES DE INCLUSIÓN DE MARALFALFA (Pennisetum spp.) EN LOS PARÁMETROS DIGESTIVOS DE COBAYOS (Cavia porcellus)

The guinea pig is a post-gastric fermenter that digests fibrous foods efficiently, these contribute to the development and functioning of digestive organs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different inclusion levels of maralfalfa (Pennisetum spp.) on the digestive parameters of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). 32 type A1 weaned animals of 15 days of age with an average weight of 381.85 g were used, 50% female and 50% male. A 4x2 factorial arrangement (diet x sex) was applied, arranged in a completely randomized design. The animals were randomly distributed in four treatments with the inclusion of 0, 2, 16, and 31% of maralfalfa (Pennisetum spp.), with 8 repetitions per treatment. The variables evaluated were absolute and relative weight of digestive organs, absolute and relative length of the small intestine, and pH of the stomach and cecum. Data were processed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and protected T-test for comparison of means. Statistical difference was detected in the absolute weight of the total digestive tract (P≤0.026), stomach (P≤0.001) and cecum (P≤0.020) with weights of 144 g, 31.3 g and 42.5 g respectively. The weight (p ≥ 0.110) and length (p ≥ 0.153) of the small intestine showed no statistical difference (p ≥ 0.153) as well as the pH of the stomach (p ≥ 0.257) and cecum (p ≥ 0.325). The weight of the stomach with content was statistically different (p≤0.020), the highest relative weight with 5.77% was reached by the diet with the inclusion of 31% of forage in the diet. It is concluded that inclusion levels of maralfalfa (Pennisetum spp.) up to 31% did not affect digestive parameters; however, the weight of stomach content increased proportionally to the inclusion of the forage level and the percentage of fiber thereof. Keywords: relative weight, absolute weight, stomach pH, cecal pH, maralfalfa.

• Glavni autor: Guamán Flores, Diana Carolina (author)
• Format: bachelorThesis
• Jezik: spa
• Izdano: 2023
• Teme: MARALFALFA; PENNISETUM; CUY
• Online pristup: https://dspace.unl.edu.ec/jspui/handle/123456789/26666