Dietary Mulberry leaf 1-deoxynijirimycin supplementation shortens villus height and improves intestinal barrier in fattening rabbits

Objective The current study investigated the effects of mulberry 1-deoxynijirimycin (DNJ) on the digestion ability, intestinal morphology, and intestinal barrier of rabbits. Methods A total of 36 New Zealand White rabbits (male) about 45 days old (mean body weight of 1.05±0.04 kg) were reared and commercial diets were employed, and afterwards divided into three groups (n = 12) with different levels of DNJ extract additive in feed: T0 (0 g/kg), T1 (0.35 g/kg), T2 (0.7 g/kg) for 28 d. Results The results demonstrated that T2 decreased the average daily gain (p