REGULATION BY DIET OF THE PANCREAS ENZYME CONTENT OF SUCKLING GOATS

To study pancreas enzyme content regulation when the diet was modified in suckling goats, re comparison was made between kids fed a milk rep lacer and ones fed maternal milk. A total of 25 preruminant Granadina breed goats,cere bottle-fed a milk replacer ad libitum from postnatal days 3 to 28 (until the age of 3 days kids had been fed colostrum). Bo dy weight, pancreas weight, total protein concentration, and enzyme ac tivities in pancreatic tissue were determined at 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 d ays of age, and the results were compared to those previously obtained in kids fed maternal milk for the same period. Lipase activity was si gnificantly lower in the group fed milk replacer; which was poorer in fat. Amylase activity was higher in this group, perhaps due to the sta rch products present in the milk substitute. However; the postnatal ev olution of chymotrypsin activity followed a similar pattern regardless of diet. Our results seem to confirm that in preruminant kids there i s a nutritional regulation of pancreatic amylase and lipase activities , depending on the amounts of their respective substrates in the diet, similar to that described in nonruminants.