The effects of feeding hempseed cake on pancreatic and jejunal digestive enzymatic activity in finishing heifers

Abstract

To evaluate the effects of feeding hempseed cake on digestive enzymes, crossbred heifers ( n = 32; 494 ± 10 kg body weight) were fed diets containing 20% (dry matter basis) dried corn distillers grains plus solubles or hempseed cake for 111 days. There was greater ( P = 0.05) pancreatic mass relative to body weight in heifers fed hempseed cake. No differences ( P ≥ 0.19) in digestive enzyme activity in the pancreas (α-amylase, trypsin, and lipase) and jejunum (maltase, glucoamylase, and isomaltase) were observed between treatments. Our results suggest that feeding hempseed cake did not influence digestive enzyme activity.