alpha-chymotrypsin and Poultry-Diseases

The effect of supplementing a cornsoybean diet (C) with glucose (G) or maltose (M) on young broilers (from hatch to 3 wk of age) affected by stunting syndrome (SS) was studied. Stunting syndrome was induced by orally administering an inoculum prepared from the intestines of SS broiler chicks. Relative to the M diet, the G diet improved growth and feed utilization and increased feed intake in naive (NA) control chickens. The C diet was intermediate in this respect. In contrast to the NA chickens, diet did not affect growth or feed utilization in SS chicks. Changes in the relative weights of the gastrointestinal tract segments were evident by 1 wk of age and hypertrophy of these segments persevered to 3 wk of age. Stunting syndrome infection was accompanied by a significant increase in pancreatic trypsin-specific activity during Weeks 1 and 2, and in chymotrypsin activity at 1 wk. During this time, amylase-specific activity was not affected. At 3 wk of age, the specific activities of amylase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin in the pancreas were lower in the inoculated vs control birds. Whereas no significant effect of SS was observed with activities of amylase in the intestinal contents, trypsin activity was higher in SS chicks at 1 wk, and that of chymotrypsin lower during Weeks 2 and 3. Relative to NA chicks, the maltase and saccharase activities of SS chicks were much lower during Week 1, but increased later on and were similar to NA chick values at 2 and 3 wk. Whereas the level of blood plasma proteins did not vary from 1 to 3 wk in the NA chicks, it increased gradually in SS chicks to a level that significantly exceeded that in their NA counterparts. Blood plasma glucose and triglyceride levels were slightly lower in the SS chicks (NS), and the blood plasma cholesterol level was significantly reduced during Week 2. Relative to NA chicks, SS infection caused a significant increase in plasma calcium during Weeks 2 and 3, accompanied by a significant reduction in blood plasma phosphorus at 2 wk only. No difference was observed in the blood plasma level of uric acid, which peaked in both treatments during Week 2, or in D-beta-hydroxybutyric acid level, which was quite stable during the experimental period. Stunting syndrome infection was accompanied by a dramatic increase in amylase and alkaline phosphatase activities in the blood plasma, and by a slight but significant decrease in activity of lactic dehydrogenase. Stunting syndrome was concluded to be an afflic

Topics: Aging; alpha-Glucosidases; Amylases; Animal Feed; Animals; Blood Proteins; Body Weight; Calcium; Chickens; Chymotrypsin; Digestive System; Eating; Food, Fortified; Glucose; Growth Disorders; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestines; Lipids; Male; Maltose; Organ Size; Phosphorus; Poultry Diseases; Sucrase; Syndrome; Tissue Extracts; Trypsin

Day-old male, meat-type chicks raised in brooder batteries were infected by orally administering an inoculum prepared from intestines of broiler chicks infected with stunting syndrome (SS). Naive controls were kept in a parallel room. The chicks were fed a commercial starter diet supplemented with two levels of enzyme preparations to 14 d of age. The experiment was continued to the age of 6 wk in order to estimate compensatory feed intake and growth. In a parallel study, digestibility of the feed was determined from 1 to 3 wk of age with control or inoculated chicks. The enzymes amylase and proteases were produced by Bacillus subtilis and Penicillium emersonii. Enzyme supplementation had no effect on feed intake, growth, or feed utilization, or on digestibility of fat, starch, protein, or energy. Because enzyme supplementation did not consistently affect performance of chicks and no interactions were observed between enzyme supplementation and infection status, data are presented for effects of infection only. Inoculation of SS-infective material reduced performance to 4 wk. Compensatory growth and feed intake were observed from the age of 4 wk onward. At the age of 6 wk the slight retardation of the inoculated chicks was not significant. On Week 1, retention of fat, starch, protein, and energy was significantly depressed in the inoculated chicks. At the age of 2 wk, retention of starch was not depressed, and at the age of 3 wk, the only consistent depression was that observed for fat. The proventriculus weight and content were consistently higher in inoculated chicks, as were the small intestine and intestinal content. The pH of the gizzard content was higher, and that of the small intestine content was lower, in the inoculated birds than in their control counterparts. Stunting syndrome infection was accompanied by a significant depression of trypsin activity in the pancreas at the age of 1 and 2 wk. At these periods, amylase and chymotrypsin were not affected. At 6 wk of age, the activities of amylase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin in the pancreas were higher in the inoculated than in the control birds. In the intestinal chime, amylase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin activities were lower in the inoculated birds on Week 1 and 2 (NS for amylase on Week 1). On Week 6, the activity of all enzymes assayed was higher in the inoculated birds (NS for amylase). It is suggested that the main factors depressing feed intake and growth in SS-infected birds are most probably

Topics: Aging; Amylases; Animals; Chickens; Chymotrypsin; Dietary Fats; Dietary Proteins; Digestion; Digestive System; Digestive System Physiological Phenomena; Endopeptidases; Energy Metabolism; Food, Fortified; Gizzard, Avian; Intestine, Small; Malabsorption Syndromes; Male; Organ Size; Pancreas; Poultry Diseases; Proventriculus; Starch; Trypsin

Topics: Amylases; Animal Feed; Animals; Arginase; Blood Urea Nitrogen; Chymotrypsin; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Proteins; Digestion; DNA; Fatty Liver; Geese; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase; Intestine, Small; Ketone Oxidoreductases; Kidney; Liver; Nitrogen; Pancreas; Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase; Poultry Diseases; RNA; Trypsin; Uric Acid; Xanthines

Topics: Amylases; Animals; Ascariasis; Chickens; Chymotrypsin; Intestine, Small; Lipase; Poultry Diseases; Trypsin