Effect of sham feeding on gastric emptying.

We studied the effect of vagal stimulation by sham feeding on gastric emptying in normal human subjects. When a saline test meal was infused into the stomach, simultaneous sham feeding did not alter the emptying of a nonabsorbable marker added to the meal or the volume of fluid emptied from the stomach. When a homogenized steak meal was infused, sham feeding caused a slight acceleration of emptying (47 +/- 2 vs. 53 +/- 2% marker recovered from the stomach 45 min after the meal, P less than 0.05). Gastric acid secretion in response to both meals was significantly augmented by sham feeding. Our results suggest that vagal stimulation by sham feeding has no effect on the emptying of isotonic saline and only a monor effect on gastric emptying of homogenized food in humans.