No differences were found in VH,CD,And VH:CD at d 21 and at 35 post-hatch by the inclusion of 100 mg/kg of clove product in the diet. However, cell numbers were affected by the clove inclusion at d 21 and tended to be affected at d 35 .
At d 21 , broiler chickens fed the clove supplemented diets had higher number of IEL, both absolute counts (Po0.05) and per 100 enterocytes (Po0.01), and higher cellular density in the lamina propria (Po0.01). At 35 d the number of IEL, absolute (P¼0.09) and per 100 enterocytes (P¼0.90), tended to be greater for broiler chickens fed the clove supplemented diet than for the control diet.
No effects were observed between diets for the density of lymphocytes in the lamina propria, or in the ratio of total cells to lymphocytes in the lamina propria at d 21 and 35.