Effect of sunflower oil on sheep small intestinal digesta viscosity, composition and amylase activity

Abstract Dietary oil triggers the release of small intestinal hormones; thus we decided to determine the associated effects on digesta viscosity, total dry matter (DM), protein content and amylase activity in the small intestine. These parameters were investigated in small intestinal digesta collected 15 min after slaughter from 18 sheep, finished on a diet of (% DM) barley silage, 60; barley grain, 32; soybean meal, 6; minerals and vitamins, 2. Half the sheep received the control diet while the remaining sheep received the same diet supplemented with sunflower oil at 6% of DM. The digesta was collected from 50 cm sections of intestine from proximal regions (50 cm from pyloric sphincter), mid jejunum and distal regions (50 cm to ileo-cecal junction), saved on ice and frozen to −80 °C. Digesta DM and protein content were lower ( P P >0.05) amylase activity in digesta from the proximal and distal regions of the intestine, but in mid-intestinal regions in sheep fed the oil supplemented diet the activity was lower ( P