Enzyme activities (mU/mg protein) in the livers of the Nile tilapia that were early fed the HP/LC diet or the LP/HC diet (history) and challenged in adulthood with CHO-M or CHO-H diets. PFK (a,b), which is involved in glycolysis, and ASAT (c,d) and GDH (e,f) in amino acid catabolism were analysed in the liver samples. At weeks 36–41, the fish were subjected to a challenge test with different dietary carbohydrate levels (37 % carbohydrates, CHO-M; 67 % carbohydrates, CHO-H). Before the challenge test, the fish were sampled to determine the effect of stimulus diet history on the PFK, ASAT and GDH activities in the liver (a,c,e). The asterisk (*) in the bar graph indicates a significant difference (P < 0⋅05). After the challenge test (week 41), the combination effects of stimulus history and challenge diet on the PFK, ASAT and GDH activities in the liver were examined (b,d,f). Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (sd) (n 6). Two-way ANOVA was used to analyse the effects of stimulus diets (history), challenge diets (diet) and their interaction (history × diet).