title: The effect of fasting on 24-hour intragastric acidity and plasma gastrin concentration.
abstract: Nine healthy subjects underwent two 24-h studies, either when fed six standard meals by mouth or when fasting. There was no significant difference in the median integrated 24-h intragastric acidity when fed or when fasting, 805 or 801 mmol.h/L, respectively. However, the median integrated 24-h plasma gastrin concentration was significantly higher when fed than when fasting, 284 pmol.h/L and 114 pmol.h/L, respectively (p less than 0.01). There appears to be a normal circadian rhythm for intragastric acidity: feeding appears to cause an acute decrease of intragastric acidity and to release gastrin, which in turn causes a compensatory rise of intragastric acidity. The results of this study suggest that the need to reinstate "normal" intragastric acidity is the drive to food-induced gastric acid secretion.
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Medicine, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, England.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lanzon-Miller
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Pounder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D005745:Gastric Acidity Determination; D005755:Gastrins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005755:Gastrins