Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology

Volume 95, Issue 6, December 1988, Pages 1496-1502
Gastroenterology

Short-Chain Fatty Acids Stimulate Ileal Motility in Humans

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-5085(88)80068-4Get rights and content

We tested the hypothesis that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and distention would stimulate ileal motility in humans. Intraluminal pressures in the ileocolonic region were recorded in 18 healthy human volunteers after instillation of boluses of SCF As, air, and saline. Ileal motility was stimulated more often by SCF As than by similar volumes of air or saline. Although increasing volumes of distention evoked greater numbers of contractions, this phenomenon was not apparent after repeated stimulation, suggesting that the “mechanoreceptor” in the human ileum has a refractory period. Symptoms of abdominal pain, cramps, and an urge to defecate may have resulted from instillation of SCF As, even at small volumes. The motility stimulated in the ileum by SCF As was not associated with systemic release of gastrointestinal regulatory peptides and was not affected by naloxone or indomethacin. Short-chain fatty acids, which can be considered as “markers” of colonic contents, might be associated with the motor response to coloileal reflux in humans.

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    The authors thank Richard Tucker and Anne Haddad of the Gastroenterology Unit and the staff of the Mayo General Clinical Research Center for their help. They also thank Lois Law for secretarial assistance.

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