The effect of triiodothyronine-prednisolone treatment on the development of digestive enzymes in the suckling pig.
Thirty suckling pigs of 4 litters were divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental piglets were treated perorally from 14 to 20 days of age with rising doses of triiodothyronine, which were combined with prednisolone for the last 3 days. On the day following the conclusion of the treatment (at 3 weeks of age) the piglets were killed by bleeding for the determination of digestive enzymes. The experimental piglets showed a significant increase of intestinal trypsin (p less than 0.01) and pancreatic amylase (P less than 0.05) activities over the control; a significant decrease of gastric chymosin activity (P less than 0.05) was caused by the great inter-group differences within one litter. Ten of the 11 parameters tested indicated precocious maturation of the digestive enzymes of the experimental piglets, however, most of these differences were not significant. Further studies are required for the possible utilization of this finding in the early weaning practice.
D000828:Animal Population Groups / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling / Q000378:metabolism*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000201:enzymology*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004798:Enzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013552:Swine / Q000378:metabolism*; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000494:pharmacology*
D004338:Drug Combinations; D004798:Enzymes; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D011239:Prednisolone