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Gastric and Pancreatic Enzyme Activities and their Relationship with Some Gut Regulatory Peptides during Postnatal Development and Weaning in Calves¹

Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Laboratoire du Jeune Ruminant, 35042 Rennes Cedex; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Hôpital Edouard-Herriot, 69374 Lyon Cedex and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 13402 Marseille Cedex 9, France

Changes in the activities of three gastric and nine pancreatic enzymes plus colipase were determined during postnatal development and weaning in calves. In calves exclusively milk-fed for 2, 7, 28, 56, 70 and 119 d, the enzyme activities per kilogram of empty live weight increased with age for chymotrypsin, elastase, carboxypeptidases A and B, ribonuclease and -amylase, decreased for chymosin, lysozyme and colipase but showed no change in the case of pepsin, trypsin, lipase and phospholipase A2 compared with animals at birth. The greatest increase was that in -amylase activity (about 50-fold between d 2 and 119). In calves weaned between d 28 and 56, all the activities were higher than in milk-fed animals, except that of chymosin (which was slightly lower) and that of colipase (which did not change). At 119 d of age, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase A, -amylase and lipase were 1.6- to fourfold higher in ruminants than in preruminants. Thus, most enzyme activities were modified first by colostrum and milk intake, and again upon weaning by development of the forestomachs and ingestion of solid food. These ontogenic patterns might be under the control of many gut regulatory peptides, the plasma concentrations of which changed simultaneously. Some gastric and pancreatic enzymes were correlated to plasma concentrations of these gut regulatory peptides.

KEY WORDS: • digestive enzymes • weaning • plasma regulatory peptides • age • calves

¹ Supported by the European Community (no. 4 111 A).

² To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 26 August 1991. Revision accepted 18 February 1992.