AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 238, Issue 4 332-G337, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society
Biphasic secretory response of exocrine pancreas to feeding
Z. Itoh, R. Honda and K. Hiwatashi
By means of a newly developed device, secretory response of the exocrine
pancreas to feeding was continuously recorded for 24 h in conscious dogs.
It was then found that the postprandial secretory pattern of the pancreas
was biphasic. The first peak of secretion, rich in enzymes, occurred 2.3
+/- 0.11 h after feeding and its secretory volume was 25.3 +/- 3.10 ml/h.
After the first peak, pancreatic secretion decreased slightly, but started
to increase again. At 10.8 +/- 0.31 h after feeding, the second peak of
secretion occurred and this was 40.5 +/- 2.93 ml/h, significantly higher
than the first peak secretion and the greatest in 1 day. The second peak
secretion did not contain a higher concentration of enzymes, but was rich
in bicarbonate. Approximately 16 h after feeding, pancreatic secretion
returned to the basal level, which continued until the next meal. That
water and bicarbonate secretion of the pancreas is the greatest at about
the 11th postprandial h had never been reported before. The physiological
role of the pancreatic secretion at that time is more likely to be related
to the neutralization of acid entering from the stomach than to the
digestion of food.
