Influence of type of dietary fat (olive and sunflower oil) upon gastric acid secretion and release of gastrin, somatostatin, and peptide YY in man.

The effects of adaptation to two diets differing in the type of dietary fat on the gastric acid secretory response to food and on the circulating levels of gastrin, somatostatin and peptide YY (PYY) were examined in humans. The study involved 18 cholecystectomized subjects previously submitted to a 30-day adaptation period to diets containing olive (group O) or sunflower oil (group S) as the fat source. During the experiments, physiological stimulation was achieved by ingestion of 200 ml of oleic acid- (group O) or linoleic acid-enriched (group S) liquid mixed meals. These resulted in an immediate rise in gastric pH. In group S, the return to the premeal value was completed within 60 min, and a further decline to values significantly lower than the basal ones was observed at the end of the study period. In contrast, ingestion of the meal containing olive oil attenuated and prolonged the pH decrease after the meal, this being associated with the suppression of postprandial gastrin response. Food ingestion induced no significant changes in plasma somatostatin concentration in either group, and no significant differences were revealed between them during the basal or postprandial situations. Plasma PYY levels were consistently higher in group O throughout the entire study period, although significance was reached only at resting. In conclusion, our results show that a 30-day adaptation period to diets containing olive oil as the main source of dietary fat results, compared with those containing sunflower oil, in an attenuated gastric secretory function in response to a liquid meal in humans. The effects of olive oil were associated with a suppression of serum gastrin and higher levels of PYY.