Digestive enzymes along digestive tract of a carnivorous fish Glyptosternum maculatum (Sisoridae,Siluriformes) |
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| Authors: | D M Xiong C X Xie H J Zhang H P Liu |
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| Institution: | College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China |
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| Abstract: | This study attempted to determine the presence, distribution and levels of digestive proteases, pepsin, amylase and lipase in the homogenates of digestive tract of a freshwater, cold‐adapted, carnivorous teleost of Tibet, Glyptosternum maculatum (n = 10, mean weight: 129.6 ± 28.9 g, mean length: 195.1 ± 16.6 mm, approximately 6 years old), at different temperatures and pH levels. The descending order of protease activity was as follows: stomach (pepsin, 16.16 ± 0.96 U/mg protein), anterior intestine (3.18 ± 0.25 U/mg protein), posterior intestine (1.76 ± 0.21 U/mg protein) and middle intestine (1.52 ± 0.23 U/mg protein). Amylase activity levels in descending order were as follows: anterior intestine (0.0062 ± 0.0007 U/mg protein), stomach (0.0032 ± 0.0009 U/mg protein), middle intestine (0.0023 ± 0.0005 U/mg protein) and posterior intestine (0.0023 ± 0.0004 U/mg protein). The highest lipase activity was found in the anterior intestine (0.83 ± 0.25 U/mg protein), followed by posterior intestine (0.51 ± 0.19 U/mg protein), middle intestine (0.48 ± 0.09 U/mg protein) and stomach (0.39 ± 0.10 U/mg protein). The optimal temperature and pH level for protease were 50 °C and 9.0–10.0, respectively, along the intestine. The pepsin optima in the stomach were 30 °C and 2.0 respectively. The optimal temperature for amylase was found to be 30 °C along the digestive tract and the optimal pH was 7.0 in the intestine and 6.0 in the stomach. The optimal temperature and pH levels of lipase were 30 °C, pH 6.0 for the stomach and 40–50 °C, pH 8.0 for the intestine, respectively. Hepato‐somatic index was 1.35 ± 0.2% and relative intestine length was 0.90 ± 0.19. The weight ratio of the stomach and intestine to body weight was 1.63 ± 0.43% and 1.57 ± 0.24% respectively. |
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| Keywords: | characteristics digestive enzymes digestive tract distribution Glyptosternum maculatum |
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