Fj. Alarcon et al., Characterization of digestive carbohydrase activity in the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), HYDROBIOL, 445(1-3), 2001, pp. 199-204
The presence of digestive carbohydrases was determined in seabream intestin
es, and the main activity identified was amylase. Optimum activity for this
enzyme was found at pH 8.0 at 40 degreesC. Amylase activity was highly sen
sitive to extreme pH, and temperatures exceeding 50 degreesC. The use of SD
S-PAGE zymograms allowed identification of amylase in the form of a high mo
lecular mass fraction exceeding 100 kDa. Results confirm the existence of a
well developed amylase equipment in this species which supports the possib
ility of increasing the amount of carbohydrates in the formulation of its c
ommercial feeds.