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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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Subject: Veterinary Physiology × Author: Beena, V × End date: 2010 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Quantification of amylase, lipase and protease in the digestive tract of Japanese quail
    (Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1997) Beena, V; KAU; Philomina, P T
    Japanese quails, being the most recently introduced species of poultry in India, are the least studied among the different domestic species of birds. For economic rearing of these valuable birds a thorough understanding of their basic digestive processes is essential. Keeping this point in view an attempt; was made to study the digestive physiology of adult Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) especially the quantification of digestive enzymes like amylase, protease (pepsin) and lipase of different regions of digestive tract, the determination of pH of the contents of crop, proventriculus, gizzard and small intestine and the feed passage rate (FPR). One hundred and ninety two, six-week old Japanese quails of the same strain (egg type) were selected, at random, from the Kerala Agricultural University Poultry Farm, Mannuthy and maintained on standard, identical managemental and feeding conditions in cage system for a period of two weeks in order to stabilize the experimental conditions in the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy. A batch of 24 birds (12 males and 12 females) of the same hatch were subjected for the quantification of the specific digestive enzyme in a particular region of the digestive system. Seven batches of 24 birds (a total number of 168 birds) were selected at weekly interval from the poultry farm for quantifying the different enzymes in specific regions. The eighth batch of 12 males and 12 females of the same hatch was utilized for studying the feed passage rate (FPR). From this last batch, 12 birds were randomly selected and utilized for estimation of pH of the contents of different regions (crop, proventriculus, gizzard and small intestine) of the digestive tract. Each batch of 24 Japanese quails (12 males and 12 females) were sacrificed when they attained eight weeks of age for the quantification of the digestive enzymes (amylase, acid protease and lipase) in specific areas of the digestive system. The enzymes were quantified in the tissue homogenate of the respective tissues. Amylase activity was estimated in the mucous membrane of crop and small intestine, pancreas and gall bladder bile. Quantification of acid protease (pepsin) was conducted in the mucous membrane of proventriculus. Lipase was quantified in the pancreas as well as small intestinal mucous membrane. The data obtained were analysed statistically. From the results of the study it was observed that crop mucosa of both sexes of quails showed an appreciable amount of amylase activity and the activity in males was significantly (P≤0.01) higher (47.9) ± 10.49 S U/g of tissue) than in females (13.26 ± 4.46 S u/g of tissue). In adult Japanese quails, when the values for both the sexes were pooled, the activity was found to be 30.62 ± 6.65 S U/g of tissue. The activity of amylase was independent of the presence of food in the crop. In pancreatic tissue also, amylase activity was significantly (P≤0.01) higher in males (59.89 ± 3.36 S U./g of tissue) than in females (38.72 ± 2.59 S U/g of tissue). When both the sexes were taken together, the overall value of pancreatic amylase was 49.30 ± 3.03 S U/g of tissue. The ( value was higher than that of the crop. The bile from gall bladder of ma Le Japanese quails exhibited, a higher P≤0.05) mean amylase activity (156.23 ± 27.72 S U/g of tissue) compared to that of female quails (87.65 ± 14.36 S.U/g of tissue). The pooled mean value of both sexes was found to be 121.93 ± 16.86 SU/g of tissue, indicating an appreciably high amylase activity in the bile of Japanese quail. The amylase activity in the small intestinal mucous membrane of males (234.38 ± 38.96 S U/g' of tissue) was significantly higher (P≤0.01) than that of females (103.23 ± 8.08 S U/g of tissue). The pooled mean value of amylase activity in small intestinal mucous membrane of both the sexes of Japanese quails was 168.81 ± 23.78 S U/g of tissue. When the amylase activity in different areas of digestive system as crop, pancreas, bile and small intestine was compared in both sexes of birds, it was observed that the highest value was noticed in the male birds. It was also observed that when the birds (both males and females) were maintained on identical ration and managemental conditions, ma ;e birds preferred coarser particles of maize where as females preferred finer particles of oil cakes. So the increased amylase activity in different regions of male quails, might be a normal response to the increased intake of carbohydrates. In adult birds, intestinal mucous membrane exhibited the highest amylase activity and the crop mucosa exhibited 'the lowest activity indicating that digestion of starch starts in the crop with salivary amylase and completion of starch occurs in the small intestine with the help of amylase derived from pancreas, bile and small intestine. There was a negative correlation between the pancreatic weight and amylase activity with the correlation in males as -0.975 and as -0.968 in females. This indicated that simple homogenisation might not have liberated the intracellularly accumulated enzyme completely and that the pancreatic weight is mainly contributed by the intracellularly accumulated enzyme. The acid protease (pepsin) activity of proventricular mucous membrane of male quails was found to be 185.67 ± 11.54 PU/g of tissue and that of female quails was 223.31 ± 38.91 P U/g of tissue. Though statistically nonsignificant, females exhibited a slightly higher value than the males. It might be a response to the increased intake of protein rich finer particles of oil cakes of feed by the females. The pooled mean value for pepsin activity when both the sexes taken together was 204.48 ± 17.97 P u/g of tissue. The lipase activity, of pancreas was quantified to 73.37 ± 7.78 L u/g of tissue in males and 38.40 ± 3.39 L U/g of tissue in females, the males had a significantly (P≤0.01) higher value. The intestinal mucous membrane exhibited a significantly higher (P≤0.05) lipase activity in the males (38.80 ± 10.93 L.U/g of tissue) than in the females (12.44 ± 4.15 L U/g of tissue). In the present study, it was also observed that the female birds preferred fat rich finer particles of oil cakes than the males. Since fat is the high energy yielding nutrient, the quantity in excess present in the diet is prevented from hydrolysis by the reduced lipase secretion in the females. The overall lipase activity in pancreas and small intestinal mucous membrane (when both the sexes were taken together) were 55.88 ± 5.52 L U/g of tissue and 25.62 ± 6.34 L U/g of tissue respectively, indicating that pancreas was the major site of lipase origin in quails. There was a negative correlation of pancreatic weight to lipase activity in both sexes, with a correlation value of -0.882 in males and -0.499 in females. As in case of amylase, homogenisation might not have liberated the intracellularly accumulated lipase too. The pH values recorded in the contents of crop, proventiculus, gizzard and small intestine (duodenum) were 5.00 ± 0.26, 4.30± 0.11, 3.50 ± 0.17 and 6.50 ± o. 00 respectively. The observed pH in crop is suggestive of the amylolytic digestion in the crop. Though proventriculus is the site of secretion of pepsin, the comparatively lower pH (acidic pH) recorded in the gizzard suggested that acid proteolytic digestion was undergoing in a better way in the gizzard. The intestinal contents exhibited the highest pH than the upper regions of the digestive tract indicating that the enzymes of pancreas, bile and small intestine require a comparatively higher pH for eliciting the optimum action in the small intestine, thereby hydrolysis of starch, protein and lipids are completed. The feed passage rate (FPR) was recorded in the last batch of 24 adult Japanese quails (12 males and 12 females) by using carmine as the indicator dye and the time taken for the first appearance of coloured excreta was taken as the index. The recorded FPR values for males and females were 120.5 ± 10.88 min and 92.4 ± 10.65 min respectively. The difference in FPR between male and female birds was not significant. The overall FPR (when data from both the sexes were pooled) was found to be 106.5 ± 8.00 min. The time taken for complete disappearance of the dye from the excreta was found to vary from 249.min to even more than a day. Though nonsignificant, the difference in FPR values observed between males and females may be due to the difference in their body weight. The results of the present study provide informations on the relative functional importance of enzymes such as amylase, protease and lipase at different regions of digestive tract of Japanese quails. The study also throws light on the pH in different regions of the digestive tract as well as transit time of feed in Japanese quails. These informations may be of use in understanding the physiology of digestion and formulation of quail rations. The observation during the course of this experiment of the preferential uptake of feed particle by male and female quails is interesting warranting further studies on feed intake behaviour in Japanese quails.