Intestinal Carbohydrase Activity and Carbohydrate Utilization in Mature Sheep

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Studies were undertaken to determine the levels of maltase, lactase, sucrase, amylase, and cellobiase in the mucosa of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum and the rate of glucose absorption and maltose and starch utilization in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon of mature sheep. Carbohydrase assays show that maltase, amylase, sucrase, lactase, and cellobiase activities were higher in the jejunum than in the ileum and duodenum, and that the maltase activity was higher than the rest of the enzymes in each area. Glucose absorption from isolated segments of the jejunum, ileum, and colon of mature, anesthetized sheep increased for the first 7 minutes after substrate injection into the intestinal lumen, while the rate of glucose absorption from the cecum decreased. After 7 minutes, the rate of glucose absorption from the 4 intestinal areas was relatively constant. Rate of glucose absorption was most rapid in the jejunum, > cecum, > ileum, and > colon. Maltose utilization was greater in the jejunum than in the ileum and no detectable maltose utilization occurred in the cecum and colon. No starch utilization was detected in the isolated intestinal segments void of pancreatic amylase.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: