Fish Nutrition and Feed Technology (2+1)

Unit 14 - Digestive enzyme, digestibility and factors affecting digestibility

14.5.Carbohydrate Digestion

The carbohydrate digestion is performed by a large number of carbohydrate digesting enzymes called carbohydrases. Each one of the carbohydrases is very specific in its actions. Carbohydrases have been demonstrated to be present in pancreatic juice in the stomach, in the intestine and in the bile, but not necessarily at all sites in all the fishes. In most species however, the pancreas is the main producer of carbohydrases.

α- amylase is known to hydrolyze starch or glycogen to oligosacchrides or maltose. Thus depending on the structure of the substrate, they are broken down by glucosidases, galactosidases or fructosidases.