Abstract
AIM: To investigate effects of non-starch polysaccharides(NSP) enzymes on pancreatic and small intestinal digestive enzyme activities in piglet fed diets containing high amounts of barley. METHODS: Sixty crossbred piglets averaging 13.5 kg were randomly assigned to two treatment groups with three replications (pens) based on sex and mass. Each group was fed on the diet based on barley with or without added NSP enzymes (0.15%) for a 40-d period. At the end of the experiment the pigs were weighed. Three piglets of each group were chosen and slaughtered. Pancreas, digesta from the distal end of the duodenum and jejunal mucosa were collected for determination. Activities of the digestive enzymes trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase and lipase were determined in the small intestinal sections as well as in homogenates of pancreatic tissue. Maltase, sucrase, lactase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT) activities were analyzed in jejunal mucosa. RESULTS: Supplementation with NSP enzymes improved growth performance of piglets. It showed that NSP enzymes had no effect on digestive enzyme activities in pancreas, but decreased the activities of proteolytic enzyme, trypsin, amylase and lipase in duodenal contents by 57.56%, 76.08%, 69.03% and 40.22%(P<0.05) compared with control, and increased gamma-GT activities in jejunal mucosa by 118.75%(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Supplementation with NSP enzymes in barley based diets could improve piglets' growth performance, decrease activities of proteolytic enzyme, trypsin, amylase and lipase in duodenal contents and increase gamma-GT activities in jejunal mucosa.