EN
A review of development and nutritional regulation of stomach secretion in young pigs, based on recent literature, is presented. Hydrochloric acid and prochimosin are detected in the gastric mucosa of fetuses several days before the birth; their secretion into the stomach of newborn pig is small but increases with age and amount of feed intake. Since about 14 days of life chymosin secretion declines and is gradually replaced by increasing secretion of pepsin. Feeding piglets with dry feed stimulates hydrochloric acid and proteolytic enzyme secretion indicating effectiveness of supplementary feeding of pigs from 10-14 days of life with respective composition and high quality dry feed. The content and kind of protein, fibre, fat, physical form of feed and meal size may modify the amount and composition of stomach juice but the mechanism of their action is not, however, fully explained.