Digestion and blood biochemical values of hens fed on the diets supplemented with exogenous protease

The paper presents the results of feeding crossbred laying hens of Hisex White breed, one year of age, suffering from chronic fistulae of the main pancreatic duct, on the wheat-soya diet supplemented with exogenous protease. The scope of the study covered the effect of enzymatic preparation Axtra Pro® on exocrine pancreatic function of hens, diet nutrients digestibility, digestive enzyme activity and blood biochemical values. Enzymatic activity of1 gof preparation Axtra Pro® amounted to 897 ± 47.5 mg of casein split during 1 minute (mg/(ml per min), which is 77.6% higher compared to preparation Pancreatine. Supplementing feed with the preparation Axtra Pro® (100g/t of feed) did not affect the amount of pancreatic juice, there were no changes in secretory enzymatic activity. The analysis of postprandial enzyme secretion dynamics made it possible to conclude that when laying hens were fed on the wheat-soya diet supplemented with exogenous protease, there was a decrease in proteolytic activity of the pancreatic juice during the first 60 min after the feed intake. After 150 min, i.e. during the neurohumoral phase of the regulation of pancreatic enzyme secretion, there was a rise in proteolytic activity. At the same time protease activity did not undergo insignificant changes during the experiment; digestibility of protein increased by 1.2% compared to the control group. Supplementing diet with the preparation Axtra Pro® (100 g/t of feed) led to the decrease in the activity of alkaline phosphatase in hens’ blood plasma by 47.8%, and glucose concentration by 9.2% compared to the control group, which proves a positive effect of the preparation on the function of digestive glands.