Methods of the intestinal digestion poultry studying
A method of evaluation of enzymatic activities in the duodenal digesta in growing meat-type chicken fed diets including ingredients with different nutritive value and digestibility is presented. The study was performed on 10 Plymouth Rock pullets (10-13 weeks of age) with chronic duodenal fistulae. Diets with higher nutritive density were found to increase the duodenal activities of amylolytic and lipolytic enzymes more than 2-fold. However, when full-fat soybean was substituted for sunflower cake (resulting in increase in dietary crude protein by 1.93%) the duodenal protease activity remained unchanged. These data evidence that the secretion of the digestive enzymes to duodenal digesta can finely adjust to feed quality including the adjustment to protein and amino acid digestibility in any specific diet. Chronic physiological experiments can be a comprehensive method in the studies on poultry nutrition; these can help in the research of the effects of different diets and additives on the digestive processes and nutrient digestibility.