Ms. Jensen et al., DEVELOPMENT OF DIGESTIVE ENZYMES IN PIGS WITH EMPHASIS ON LIPOLYTIC-ACTIVITY IN THE STOMACH AND PANCREAS, Journal of animal science, 75(2), 1997, pp. 437-445
The effect of age and weaning on the activities of digestive enzymes w
ith emphasis on the lipolytic enzymes before and after weaning was inv
estigated. The activities of amylase, chymotrypsin, trypsin, carboxyl
ester hydrolase, pancreatic lipase, and colipase in pancreatic tissue
and the activity of gastric lipase in the cardiac mucosa of the stomac
h in 45 pigs were response variables. The activity of trypsin was not
affected by weaning and the rate of increase was similar during the wh
ole experiment. The activities of chymotrypsin and amylase decreased a
t weaning (P < .05). After weaning the activity of chymotrypsin increa
sed more slowly than before weaning (P < .001), whereas the rate of in
crease of amylase activity remained unchanged. Lipase, colipase, and c
arboxyl ester hydrolase activities decreased at weaning (P < .001), wh
ereas gastric Lipase activity increased at weaning (P < .01). The deve
lopment of Lipase, colipase, and carboxyl ester hydrolase activity dec
reased postweaning (P < .01), whereas gastric lipase activity increase
d before weaning and remained constant after weaning. Pancreatic lipas
e had a considerably higher capacity for hydrolyzing tributyrin, and t
he total activity of pancreatic lipase was up to 600 times higher than
that of gastric Lipase. The lipolytic enzymes displayed a non-paralle
l pattern of development, and we suggest that this reflects the import
ance of these enzymes during the suckling and postweaning phases, resp
ectively. However, the significance of gastric lipase for the digestio
n of fat in pigs remains to be elucidated.