Chitinolytic activity of mucosal enzymes in the different parts of the digestive tract in broilers

Abstract

The present study was performed to measure activities of mucosal chitinase and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase) in the proventriculus, duodenum jejunum and ileum of broilers given standard and shrimp meal (SM) diets. Activities of both enzymes were extremely high (P< 05) in the proventriculus, and low or negligible in other parts, and in the proventriculus, activity of chitinase was much greater than that of NAGase. Dietary SM containing chitin had little or decreasing effect on activities of both enzymes. The result obtained here suggests that in broilers, chitin digestion by mucosal enzymes occurs mainly in the proventriculus, and the enzyme activities are not stimulated by dietary chitin. © 2013, Japan Poultry Science Association.