Activity of some of the main enzymes involved in protein digestion and absorption (acid and alkaline proteases, leucine‐aminopeptidase, acid and alkaline phosphatases) as well as those of amylase and lipase, was assessed during larval development of white sea bream Diplodus sargus . All enzyme activity was detected at the moment of mouth opening. The variations observed in the activity profiles of the digestive enzymes were correlated either to developmental events, such as the functional start of the stomach (22 days after hatching), or to changes in the nature of the diet. The early and noticeable development of digestive enzyme activities was linked to a high survival after weaning.
Digestive enzymes indicating nutritional condition in octopus paralarvae Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797 Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of different diets in Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797 paralarvae. Diets were composed of different combinations of Artemia salina (L., 1758), Moina salina Daday, 1888 and crab zoea, as well as artificial food. Wet weight of the paralarvae was recorded. Protease and trypsin activity were determined in a number of individuals to assess changes in the digestive use of food. Results show that enzyme secretion was affected both by age and the type of food. It is deduced that protease activity can be used as spawning quality index, and that trypsin activity gives information about whether paralarvae are feeding.
Models simulating the in vitro digestive hydrolysis of nutrients by different animal species are frequently used to obtain a better understanding of factors affecting this process. Optimization algorithm of a model may be used to prospect the more favourable combination of selected factors resulting in the higher performance. This study was conducted to determine the combination of factors (pH, enzyme:substrate ratio, and reaction time) leading to highest bioavailability of proteins and carbohydrates in the gilthead seabream gastrointestinal tract. Besides, a novel multi-objective algorithm, desirability function, was introduced for optimization of the digestive hydrolysis of nutrients within the simulated gut of the species, using models based on the Response Surface Methodology. Design of experiment was defined based on the physiology and culture conditions of the species, and in vitro assays were performed in a two-phase (stomach ad intestine) digestion process, using the species-specific enzyme extract. According to results, intestinal phase of digestion makes the major contribution to the total protein hydrolysis, being the efficiency of the process directly correlated to all the three studied factors. In contrast, the efficiency of carbohydrate hydrolysis was directly correlated to the amount of substrate and inversely to the pH, while reaction time did not exert a significant effect. The physiological range of the factors studied in the assays favoured the hydrolysis of proteins over carbohydrates, a similar scenario to that observed in the live fish. Results from the mathematical models and their simultaneous optimization obtained from this work may have practical applications in design of feeds for this species.
El Gobierno andaluz ha concedido la mitica llave de Oro del Cante, galardon del mundo flamenco instituido en el siglo XIX y registrado por la Consejeria de Cultura en 1984, a Antonio Fernandez Diaz, Fosforito. Solo El Nitri, Manuel Vallejo, Antonio Mairena y Camaron la poseen.
The Mugilidae are a group of fish with a great interest for aquaculture due to their omnivorous profile, rapid growth, and resistance to environmental variations. The selection of feed ingredients for these species is currently focused on an extensive use of plant by-products, with this being limited by their content in anti-nutritive factors (mainly phytate and non-starch polysaccharides; NSPs). Nevertheless, specific enzymes can be used to counteract some of those negative effects. In the present study, the effect of pretreating two high-plant feeds with a mixture of enzymes (glucanases + phytase) on the digestive use of protein and phosphorus by juvenile mullets (Mugil cephalus) was assessed using both in vitro and in vivo assays. The enzymatic treatment significantly modified the potential bioavailability of some nutrients, such as a reduction of sugars, pentoses, and phytic phosphorus. Also, it increased the digestibility of protein in one of the feeds but reduced that of phosphorus in both of them. The potential usefulness of enzyme treatment and the information provided by the two types of assays are discussed.