Glucose, glycine and diglycine in test meals at stimuli to a duodenal osmoreceptor slowing gastric emptying

Abstract

1. Five subjects took 210 test meals of 750 ml. water containing 30--300 m-molal glucose or glycine, or 15--150 m-molal diglycine, or plain water. 2. The greater the concentration of solute, the greater was the volume of original meal recovered from the stomach after a fixed time. 3. On a molal basis glucose was half as effective as diglycine in slowing gastric emptying. This was consistent with the osmoreceptor being exposed to the diglycine after it had been split by the hydrolase of the cytosol of enterocytes (the absorbing cells of the small intestine). 4. The slowing of gastric emptying (ml./mole.1.) was about 10% greater for glycine than it was for glucose. There was apparently a threshold concentration below which glycine did not slow gastric emptying. 5. It was proposed that the response of the doudenal osmoreceptor might depend upon shrinking and swelling of the lateral intercellular space around the enterocytes.