Development and evaluation of a new peroral test agent GA-test for assessment of gastric acidity.

A new peroral test capsule, GA-Test, containing riboflavin (5 mg) granules coated with polyvinylacetal diethylaminoacetate (AEA) for assessing gastric acidity without intubation was developed and evaluated for usefulness. GA-Test is based on the tracing in the urine of riboflavin, which is released in the stomach only in the presence of acidic fluid and is absorbed. Due to the film coating, riboflavin released very quickly at a pH of less than 5, and not at all at a pH of greater than 6. GA-Test gave a significant correlation, quantitatively, with peroral Gastrotest in assessing acidity, a non-intubation method which had been marketed in Japan prior to 1980. GA-Test results allowed division of the subjects into two groups i.e., subjects having low (hypo- or anacidity) gastric acidity and those having high (normal or hyperacidity) gastric acidity, GA-Test results agreed well with results of intubation (around 91.4%; 32 out of 35 cases) and were easily reproduced during the evaluation.