Evaluation of digestive enzymes of pacu fed diets containing different carbohydrate and lipid levels

• Grant number: 12/20268-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Fishery Resources and Fishery Engineering - Aquaculture
• Principal Investigator: Ligia Uribe Gonçalves
• Grantee: Michel Rudan Isaias Vargas
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The protein, the main energy source in fish feed, when replaced by lipids and/or carbohydrates, provides a significant economic gain since the protein is converted into growth, instead of being consumed as an energy source. The metabolic capacity of the fish to utilize the nutrients ingested depends on the presence of enzymes, which are still poorly known. The understanding of the physiological process of digestion can contribute to the accuracy in the nutritional requirements determination and enable the adjustment of diet composition for better growth. The aim of this work is to determine the concentration of digestive enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase) of the digestive tract (stomach, pyloric caeca, and intestine) of pacu fed with different relationships between lipids and carbohydrates and several lipid sources for 90 days. This study will provide greater insight into the plasticity of digestive enzyme, demonstrating the ability to modify the activity profile of digestive enzymes according to the food consumed, and thus correlate these results with the performance of growth.(AU)