title: Circadian rhythms in disaccharidases of rat small intestine and its relation to food intake.
abstract: The activities of maltase and sucrase of the small intestine were low at night and high in the daytime in rats which had been fed from 09.00 h to 15.00 h for 2 weeks. A remarkable rise of enzyme activities was observed at 08.00 h, 1 h before the start of feeding. The rhythmic changes in disaccharidase activities continued for at least 2 days after  starvation, but completely disappeared after 5 days of starvation. It was suggested that the disaccharidase rhythms are not a direct consequence of food intake, but that anticipation of food intake acts as a trigger for initiation of the disaccharidase rhythms.
mesh_terms: D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004186:Disaccharidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005959:Glucosidases / Q000378:metabolism; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000201:enzymology*; D013217:Starvation; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004186:Disaccharidases; D005959:Glucosidases