Effects of intragastric ethanol administration on gastric acid secretion and gastrointestinal hormone release in dogs.

Dogs with a vagally denervated (Heidenhain) pouch and a gastric fistula were used to investigate the humoral mechanism which would affect the gastric acid secretion following acute intragastric ethanol administration. Ethanol solutions induced a dose-related secretion of gastric acid. Although plasma gastrin levels increased after the loading of both 20% and 30% ethanol solutions, there was a discrepancy between total acid output and the integrated gastrin response. Plasma secretin levels also augmented after the administration of ethanol solutions, with a delay of about one hour after the onset of acid secretion. The response of gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) to ethanol was very slight, similar to that of insulin. There was a significant rise in plasma glucose levels after the instillation of 30% ethanol solution as in the case of liquid meal. It is concluded that gastrin may be merely one of the factors which stimulate acid secretion after ethanol administration, and that gastric acid would have a close relationship with secretin release. It is also probable that acid is not an effective stimulant to the release of GIP.