Influence of Age on Lipase, Amylase, and Protease Activities in Pancreatic Tissue and Intestinal Contents of Young Turkeys

Day-old male turkeys were fed either a reference diet with 12% sucrose or experimental diets with 12% tallow or 12% animal-vegetable blend (A-V fat) replacing sucrose until 56 days of age. Poults were sampled at 1 day of age and every 2 to 7 days thereafter for determination of enzyme activities of pancreas and contents of the proximal one-fourth of the small intestine. In pancreatic tissue, trypsin, protease, and lipase activities increased with age after a lag period of about 14 days. Amylase activity increased rapidly during the first 14 days. In intestinal contents, trypsin, protease, and amylase increased from Day 1 until Day 21. Development of intestinal lipase activity seemed to depend on dietary fat level. Low activities were observed with low fat diets throughout the study. With high fat diets, a lag period of about 3 wk was followed by a five-fold increase in lipase activity.