Fluctuations of gastrin, motilin and total bile acid levels in porcine blood before and after feeding.

In four young healthy pigs, the radioimmunological determinations of serum gastrin, plasma motilin and total serum bile acids were performed during four hours of the interdigestive state and up to one hour after standard feeding procedure. In 24-hr fasted animals, gastrin, motilin and bile acid concentrations fluctuated and duration of oscillation periods was similar to the length of the interdigestive motor cycle. However, only motilin peaks were temporally correlated with bile acid peaks. Feeding did not abolish motilin and bile acid fluctuations and significantly decreased serum bile acid level. It is concluded that the relationships among gastrin, motilin and bile acids are in part different in pigs from those in man and dog and still some controversy exists as to the regulatory role of both hormones mainly in the postprandial state.