Effect of Age, Weaning and Diet on Digestive Enzyme Levels in the Piglet

Abstract

Thirty-seven pigs were used to evaluate the effects of age and weaning on the level of protease in the gastric mucosa and trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase and lipase in the pancreas. There was a positive allometry of the pancreas and gastric mucosa associated with age and with weaning to a solid diet. Increases with age in total activity of chymotrypsin, trypsin, amylase and gastric proteases were due to increases in both tissue weight and enzyme activity per gram of tissue. A general depression in pancreatic enzymatic activities, but not in gastric proteolytic activity, was found during the first week following weaning. Forty pigs were used in a second trial to evaluate the effects of age and weaning diet on the same digestive enzymes. Total activity of all enzymes assayed increased with time postweaning. Increases in total activity of lipase and chymotrypsin were due primarily to increased pancreatic weight postweaning. Amylase, trypsin and gastric protease increases were due both to increased tissue weight and increased activity per gram of tissue. There were no effects of diet on the weight of gastric mucosa or the level of activity of the gastric proteases. Pigs fed a diet containing 20% whey had larger pancreases (P less than .10) at slaughter and a greater, but nonsignificant, mean activity per gram of pancreas for all pancreatic enzymes. It appears that the pig has sufficient pancreatic and gastric enzyme activity so that performance should not be limited, with the possible exception of the period shortly after weaning. However diet digestibility and subsequent pig performance may be more directly related to the extent of release of these enzymes into the intestine and the conditions that exist therein.

Transient effects of weaning on the health of newly weaning piglets

“…Most studies have focused on the effects of weaning stress on the digestive system of piglets (Lindemann et al 1986;Cera et al 1988). In recent years, an increasing number of studies have reported that the immune and neuroendocrine systems are extensively activated when the body is under stress ).…”

Development of gastrointestinal and pancreatic functions in mammalians (mainly bovine and porcine species): influence of age and ingested food

“…The presence of CCK receptors in the small intestinal mucosa has been reported in rats and ferrets [6,88]. Moreover, the stability of gastrin in the GI lumen and its protection by colostrum from luminal hydrolysis in the small intestine [143] [84,93]. Nevertheless, it seems that the increase in proteolytic activity in relation to age is more pronounced in artificially reared pigs [19].…”

“…Following birth, in pigs and lambs, there is a positive allometry and an isometry of the pancreas, respectively, associated with age [46,84]. Based on DNA and RNA measurements in pancreas, Corring et al [12] ascribe the increase in pancreas weight before 4 weeks of age to a hyperplasia of pancreatic cells; subsequent increases involve both hyperplasia and hypertrophy.…”

Use of re-esterified palm oils, differing in their acylglycerol structure, in weaning-piglet diets

“…However, FFA constituted the major lipid fraction in feces for all treatments, suggesting that the absorption of FFA is the main limiting factor of fat absorption in weaning piglets. Several authors have attributed the decreased fat apparent absorption in the post-weaning period to insufficient secretion of bile (Jones et al, 1992), although others have also suggested a decreased secretion of lipases due to the adaptation of the pancreas to the new diet (Lindemann et al, 1986;Jensen et al, 1997).…”