The objective of this work was to determine the amylase activity in the chyme present in the medium and posterior intestines or in the rectum of three tropical freshwater Teleostei species: piracanjuba, Brycon orbignyanus (Valenciennes, 1849), piau, Leporinus friderici (Bloch, 1974), omnivorous, and surubim, Pseudoplatystoma coruscans (Agassiz, 1829), preferably carnivorous, aiming to provide nutritional reference data for the adjustment of the artificial feeding systems. The amylase activity was determined by the use of BIOCLIN kit with a modified methodology by CARAWAY (1959). The results showed an average specific activity (2.106,33 UA/mg) for piracanjuba amylase and were 91.74% lower as compared to piau (25,488,14 UA/mg), both with an omnivorous feeding habit, while the specific activity for piracanjuba amylase was 89.96% lower as compared to surubim (19,24680 UA/mg), carnivorous, which showed amylase specific activity 24.49% lower as compared to the piau. These data suggest that the greatest difference of amylase specific activity between piau e piracanjuba was related to its morphometry and the complex arrangement of the medium and posterior intestine mucous membrane folds. Furthermore, the surubim amylase activity indicates the possibility of the use of carbohydrate containing diet; however, additional studies are necessary to evaluate the behavior of these species in the artificial feeding.
amylase activity; animal nutrition; piracanjuba; piau; surubim
