The mechanism by which certain alcoholic beverages stimulate gastric acid secretion is not fully understood. The evidence concerning the efficacy of ethanol to stimulate acid output is conflicting with recent studies demonstrating an inhibitory action. In contrast there is a rather uniform agreement that non-distilled alcoholic beverages (i.e. wines and beers) are effective stimulants of gastric acid secretion which appears to be attributable to their ability to stimulate gastrin release. The chemical constituent(s) in wine and beer responsible for triggering the secretion of this hormone, however, have yet to be identified. In previous studies our laboratory has demonstrated that volatile amines, compounds generated by fermentation and found in high concentration in these alcoholic beverages, are potent stimulants of gastrin release both in vivo and in vitro. Accordingly in this proposal we plan to investigate the contribution of the simple aliphatic amines as well as the aromatic amine, tyramine, to the gastric secretory response (gastrin release and acid secretion) elicited by the intragastric administration of these beverages in rats and dogs. Amine analysis will be performed both qualitatively by fluorescence or colorimetric reactions and quantitatively by gas chromatography. Gastrin release will be determined by radioimmunoassay, and gastric acid secretion will be studied in laboratory animal with surgically prepared gastric pouches and measured with an autotitrator. This study, therefore, should provide insight into mechanism by which certain alcoholic beverages facilitate the digestive process, and whether this GI action is harmful or therapeutic to the organism.
