Abstract

The knowledge of the digestive capabilities of a particular species is a key step in the establishment of diets and feeding strategies in captivity. Carbohydrates are important macronutrients in the diet and also, from the aquaculture perspective, they represent a cheap source of energy. However, there is a lack of information concerning the digestion of carbohydrates in the spiny lobster Panulirus argus. In this study we evaluated the in vitro digestion of different carbohydrate sources by the digestive enzymes of P. argus. Rice starch, and gelatinised potato and corn starches were the substrates with higher rates of hydrolysis among all the tested sources, followed by rice flour, wheat flour, potato starch, corn flour, glycogen and corn starch. Substrates showing the lowest rates of hydrolysis were alginate, agarose, agar and carboxymethyl cellulose. This paper provides the first information on the digestibility of carbohydrates in P. argus.