ABSTRACT
The digestive tracts of Neopentadactyla mixta and of other echinoderms have been shown to contain carbohydrate splitting enzymes, including amylase, maltase, arylsulphatase and β-glucuronidase. These activities were not due to bacterial contamination and are located in the intestinal mucosa. While proteolytic activity could readily be shown in the asteroid Marthasterias glacialis, no such activity has yet been found in the holothuroids examined. γ-Glutamyltranspeptidase is widely distributed in echinoderm tissues.
