Plasma enzyme activities indicative of liver cell damage in laying fowl given a diet containing 20 per cent of rapeseed meal.

The effects of a diet containing a high proportion of rapeseed meal on the activity of certain plasma enzymes were studied in laying birds. The enzymes studied were alkaline phosphatase (AP), aspartate transaminase (AST), L-gamma-glutamyl-transferase (gamma-GT), isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), leucine arylamidase (LAP), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH). No notable differences were observed between the plasma AP, LAP or SDH activities of the birds given the rapeseed meal and the birds receiving a soyabean meal control diet throughout the experiment. However, the plasma AST and gamma-GT activities of the treated birds showed slight elevations while their plasma ICDH and MDH activities showed more marked elevations, which are indicative of liver damage, in response to the diet. Macroscopic observations of the livers of the birds at the end of the experiment were in fairly good accord with the elevation in plasma ICDH and MDH activities noted for the individual birds.