Abstract
This experiment aimed to research the intestinal α-amylase and lipase activities of three local chicken breeds from Jiangxi Province in South China, and to investigate the highest enzyme activity sites of digestive enzymes. Six each of Taihe silky fowls, Ningdu three-yellow chickens and Chongren partridge chickens with similar body weights were selected and slaughtered. For each chicken, six portions of chyme were respectively taken from duodenum and jejunum at equal distances, and then α-amylase and lipase activities were determined in these 12 portions of chyme. The results indicated that the α-amylase and lipase activities of the three local chicken breeds did not change significantly in the duodenum, while in the jejunum they gradually increased and then declined. In the meantime, the highest α-amylase activities were found in the 2nd section of the jejunum in Ningdu three-yellow chicken and Chongren partridge chicken, and α-amylase activity in Taihe silky fowl was highest in the 3rd section of the jejunum. The highest lipase activity was observed in the 3rd section of the jejunum for both Taihe silky fowl and Chongren partridge chicken, whereas Ningdu three-yellow chicken exhibited the highest lipase activity in the 2nd section of the jejunum. Both α-amylase and lipase activities reached their maximum in the mid-anterior jejunum of the three chickens, but the location of their highest enzyme activities and digestive enzyme activities were different, with the highest α-amylase activity in Ningdu three-yellow chicken and the highest lipase content in Taihe silky fowl.