Histomorphometric study of the effect of methionine on small intestine parameters in rat: an applied histologic study

Background: Assessment of morphological changes has more often been used in the diagnosis and assessment of intestinal pathology and development. Since methionine is widely used in nutritional and sports supplements and also there is not enough information about the effect of this amino acid on the gastrointestinal histomorphometry, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of methionine on the small intestine histomorphometry. Materials and methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided to three equal groups. Two treatment groups received 100 and 200 mg/kg L-methionine solution respectively via intraperitoneal injection while the control group received normal saline. On day 21, all rats were euthanised and segments from three parts of small intestine were taken to histomorphometrical study. Paraffin sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, alcian blue (AB) and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) methods separately. In order to analyse histomorphometric features of each segment, villus height, width, area, crypt depth, villus height to crypt depth ratio, goblet cell number, and muscle layer thickness were measured. Results and Conclusions: Obtained results revealed that methionine may change the histomorphometric parameters of small intestine. (Folia Morphol 2017; 76, 4: 620–629)