Experimental study of digestion in Octopus vulgaris (Cephalopoda: Octopoda)*

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Abstract
Digestion in Octopus is very fast at the beginning and slows down progressively. At 18–19°C, the crop was empty 6 hours after the beginning of the meal, gastric digestion was achieved after 9 hours and caecal digestion after 12 hours. The digestive enzymes are mainly supplied by the digestive gland, where alternating phases of synthesis and release were observed. Absorption takes place in the digestive gland, in the digestive duct appendages, and in the caecum, where the lipids were first absorbed. At 14°C, all processes of digestion are distinctly slower. There was some evidence that digestion might also be affected by sex and sexual maturation.