Pancreatic and gastric responses to gastric versus jejunal beer in humans.

To investigate the influence of beer on gastric and pancreatic secretion, 14 fasted volunteers were studied on two different days. A multilumen intestinal tube allowed measurement of intraluminal pressures and collection of gastric and duodenal juices. Seven subjects received in random order 250 ml of either beer or glucose (5.6%, w/v) intragastrically; seven other subjects received these intrajejunally. After 15 min, 48 +/- 8% of beer and 47 +/- 6% of glucose were emptied into the duodenum. Intragastric beer induced a nearly sevenfold increase in gastric acid output as compared with glucose (16.3 +/- 2.9 mmol/h versus 2.5 +/- 0.6 mmol/h; p less than 0.05), intrajejunal beer induced a nearly threefold increase (5.1 +/- 0.8 mmol/h versus 1.7 +/- 0.3 mmol/h). The stimulated gastric acid output was threefold higher after intragastric than after intrajejunal beer. Trypsin output was slightly but significantly (p less than 0.05) stimulated by intragastric beer as compared with glucose (4,639 +/- 460 U/h versus 3,628 +/- 399 U/h) and nearly threefold by intrajejunal beer (2,579 +/- 455 U/h versus 849 +/- 181 U/h) (p less than 0.05). Trypsin response to intragastric beer was 1.8 times higher than after intrajejunal beer (p less than 0.05). Intragastric beer induced a nearly ninefold increase of the 1 h integrated plasma gastrin response as compared with glucose (998 +/- 347 pM min vs 115 +/- 70 pM min) (p less than 0.05). Intrajejunal beer and glucose did not release gastrin. We conclude that both intragastric and intrajejunal beer stimulate gastric acid and pancreatic enzyme secretion; intragastric beer being a more potent stimulant. Gastrin might partially mediate the responses to intragastric but not to intrajejunal beer.