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Sildenafil, a Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor, Delays Gastric Emptying and Gastrointestinal Transit of Liquid in Awake Rats

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Abstract

We studied the effect of sildenafil on gastric emptying (GE) and gastrointestinal (GI) transit in awake rats. After cervical vessel cannulation and 24 hr of fasting, the animals received an intravenous (IV) injection of sildenafil (4 mg/kg) or vehicle. Next they were gavage fed (1.5 ml) with a test meal (phenol red in 5% glucose solution, 0.5 mg/ml) and sacrificed 10, 20, or 30 min later. Experimental and control subsets consisted of 5–10 rats. Gastric and proximal, medial, and distal small intestine dye retentions (GDR and IDR, respectively) were obtained by spectrophotometry. Data were compared by ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls test. In sildenafil-treated animals, GDR increased (P < 0.05) by 20.3%, 46.9%, and 55,5% while medial IDR decreased (P < 0.05) by 35.1%, 43.4%, and 41.6%, respectively, at 10, 20, and 30-min intervals. Proximal and distal IDR values did not change in sildenafil-treated animals. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased 25% (P < 0.05) right after sildenafil administration but normalized afterwards while in controls MAP remained unchanged. In conclusion, sildenafil delays GE and GI transit of a liquid meal while transiently decreases MAP in awake rats.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil

    Mauro Cabral de Rosalmeida, Luciana Duarte Sobreira Saraiva, José Ronaldo Vasconcelos da Graça, Bruno Barreto Ivo, Marcel Vieira da Nóbrega, Francisco de Assis Aquino Gondim, Francisco Hélio Rola & Armenio Aguiar dos Santos

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  1. Mauro Cabral de Rosalmeida
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  2. Luciana Duarte Sobreira Saraiva
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  3. José Ronaldo Vasconcelos da Graça
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  4. Bruno Barreto Ivo
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  5. Marcel Vieira da Nóbrega
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  6. Francisco de Assis Aquino Gondim
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  7. Francisco Hélio Rola
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  8. Armenio Aguiar dos Santos
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Correspondence to Armenio Aguiar dos Santos.

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de Rosalmeida, M.C., Saraiva, L.D.S., da Graça, J.R.V. et al. Sildenafil, a Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor, Delays Gastric Emptying and Gastrointestinal Transit of Liquid in Awake Rats. Dig Dis Sci 48, 2064–2068 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026151227729

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