The Effect of L-Carnitine and Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Diet on Morphology of Liver, Intestine and Oviduct of Laying Hens

Morphological changes in vital organs such as the liver, intestines and oviducts of laying hens by feeding certain compounds can affect their productive performance. This study was conducted to investigate the morphological changes in the liver, intestine and oviduct tissues of laying hens by feeding on omega-3 riched diets containing different levels of L-carnitine. One hundred tewnty laynig hens were used at 34-44 weeks of age. Laynig hens allocated into 2×3 factorial experiment with two levels of omega-3 (zero, 3%) and three levels of L-carnitine (zero, 100 and 200 mg/kg) in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 5 replicates and 4 birds per each. Diets containing 100 mg/kg L-carnitine increased the crypt width in intestinal (P<0.05). The effect of L-carnitine and omega-3 fatty acids on the diameter of the hepatocyte nucleus and the diameter of the hepatocyte cell in the liver was not significant. Feeding diets rich in omega-3s increased the height of the epithelium of the magnum (P<0.05). Adding 100 mg/kg of L-carnitine to normal or omega-3-rich diets increased fold height in Isthmus (P<0.05). It could be concluded that adding 100 or 200 mg/kg of L-carnitine to diets enriched by omega-3 fatty acids had no effect on hepatocyte nucleus and cell diameter. Diet containing omega-3 or adding 100 mg / kg L-carnitine to diet containing omega-3 had a negative effect on the height of intestinal villi but increased the height and thickness of the folds and epitelium tissue which can improve the production performance of laying hens. Further studies are recommended in this area.