Activities of digestive enzymes during ontogenic development ofgolden mahseer (Tor putitora) larvae

Abstract

Present investigation was undertaken to study the activities of digestive enzymes during ontogenic development of golden mahseer. Different age groups (0 DAH, (0 day after hatching), 3 DAH, 7 DAH, 15 DAH, 21 DAH, 30 DAH and 45 DAH) of mahseer larvae were fed acerated goat liver twice daily. Samples of mahseer larvae of all studied age groups were collected and analyzed for activities of digestive enzymes namely amylase, protease, trypsin, lipase and alkaline phosphatase. Activities of trypsin and lipase showed similar trend expect for the first 7 DAH. Lipase activity showed a linear increase up to 7 DAH, while trypsin activity showed no significant change during this time. Activities of both lipase and trypsin sharply decreased on 15 DAH followed by a significant abrupt increase to a maximum on 21 DAH. Protease activity in mahseer larvae was observed even on 0 DAH and this activity was consistent till 3 DAH and then increased followed by a decrease. Minimum amylase activity was on 0 and 3 DAH and maximum on 7 DAH. Minimum activity of alkaline phosphatase was on 0 DAH and activity remained lower till 7 DAH followed by a sharp increase till 30 DAH and then decreased on 45 DAH. Activities of different digestive enzymes indicated that mahseer larvae are able to digest protein, lipid and carbohydrates at an early stage. In this study, although a sharp increase occurred at the start of exogenous feeding, specific activity of most of digestive enzymes exhibited fluctuations.