Plasma secretin concentration in anaesthetized pigs after intraduodenal glucose, fat, aminoacids, or meals with various pH.

The concentration of immunoreactive secretin in portal blood and the secretion from the exocrine pancreas were measured during intraduodenal infusion of isotonic or hypertonic saline, isotonic or hypertonic glucose, aminoacids, fat emulsion, or 0.1 mol X 1(-1) hydrochloric acid in 7 anaesthetized pigs. None of these substances, except hydrochloric acid, had any effect on plasma secretin concentration and pancreatic flow rate and bicarbonate output. Plasma secretin concentration rose significantly from 5.6 +/- 2.7 pmol X 1(-1) (mean +/- S.E.M.) to a peak value of 201.2 +/- 80.5 pmol X 1(-1) 15 min after infusion of hydrochloric acid. Pancreatic flow rate and bicarbonate output increased from 0.51 +/- 0.19 ml X h-1 (mean +/- S.E.M.) to 9.85 +/- 2.33 ml X h-1 and from 52 +/- 11 micronmol X h-1 to 1.004 +/- 290 micronmol X h-1, respectively. During intraduodenal introduction of meals with pH adjusted from 1.0 to 7.0 in 4 pigs amylase was secreted at all pH levels. However, only when pH of the meal was 1.0, resulting in an intraduodenal pH from 1.0 to 1.7 during the stimulation, was a significant increase in plasma secretin concentration and pancreatic flow rate observed from 5.5 +/- 2.8 pmol X 1(-1) (mean +/- S.E.M.) to 115.0 +/- 51.2 pmol X 1(-1) and from 0.20 +/- 0.08 ml X h-1 to 6.25 +/- 2.57 ml X h-1, respectively.