| In order to provide information on the digestive capacity of marine crustacea of mariculture potential in Kenya with a view to aiding the development of suitable feeds to support the industry, a biochemical survey was made of enzymes of extracellular digestion in the Indian White shrimp, Penaeus indicus. Results showed midgut gland endo-proteases in wild adult shrimp from the Kenya coast to have optima between pH 7.2 and 8.5 (Trypsin pH 7.5-8.0, Chymotrypsin pH 7.2-7.8, Elastase pH 6.8-8.5) with maximum specific activities of 101-408, 37-516, 70-90 Units mg protein-1 min-1 for trypsin, chymotrypsin and elastase respectively. There was no pepsin. The North Sea Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, was investigated to a lesser extent and found to have much... |
