Effect of Adding Sugars to a Carbohydrate-Free Diet on Intestinal Disaccharidase Activities in the Young Calf

A carbohydrate-free diet formulated to determine the effect of dietary carbohydrates on digestive enzymes in the young calf consisted of 30% "fat and 70% of a protein premix which contained 92% protein.After an adaptation of about 3 days, calves consumed this diet readilv and gained weight.Sixteen male Holstein calves were fed the basal embohvdratefree diet from 6 to 21 davs of age after which they were divided into four groups, three of which received added carbohydrates: (I) lactose, (II) galactose, or (Ill) glucose at 4.5 gkg body weight daily for :2 wk.The fomth group (IV), control, continued to receive the basal only.Laetase activities per milligram protein in the mueosa of the proximal one-third of the small intestine from calves receiving these diets were 10.2, 7.8, 5.8, and 4.7 (X 10-'-' t~M disaceharide hvdrolvzed min).Values from diet I were greater than from either III or IX'.Intestinal maltase followed a trend smilar to that for lactose, with diet I higher than IV.There were no significant differenees be~veen anv of the treatments in the distal section.Pancreatic amylase activity was less in calves reeeivi,~g the glucoses-supplemented diet (31.4) than in those fed the carbohydrate-free diet (65.2).Preprandial bh,nd glucose rapidlv declined in calves on the carbohydrate-free 0ietarv reg;me and was not increased by the addition of anv sugars to the diet.Clucose disappeared from the b!ood faster in calves which received carbohv-Received November :3, 1972.'Pul)lisilcd with the apprmal of tile Director of the Michigan A~ricultural Experiment Station as Journal No. 6124.:The fat sou,'cv \~,t, emulsified white grease, from beef compliments of Milk Specialties Corp., Dundee.Ill.drates for 2 wk than in those on a carbohvdrate-free ration.Increases in blood g~lucose after feeding galactose were low compared to those from either glucose or lactose diets.