Intraduodenal hydrolysis of gelatin as a measure of protein digestion in normal subjects and in patients with malabsorption syndromes.
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Gelatin was used as a test solution to study the intraduodenal hydrolysis of protein in normal subjects and in patients with malabsorption syndromes. A double lumen tube was used to infuse gelatin into the duodenum and to aspirate duodenal contents after the infused solution had traversed 25 cm. The hydrolysis of gelatin was then studied by measuring the conversion of protein-bound hydroxyproline to peptide-bound and free hydroxyproline in the duodenal aspirates. In 5 normal subjects, 63 to 84% of the hydroxyproline in the infused gelatin was digested to dialyzable peptides after flowing through the measured segment of the duodenum. In 7 patients with pancreatic insufficiency, less than 15% of the infused gelatin was digested to dialyzable peptides, demonstrating a marked defect in the hydrolysis of gelatin. In 4 patients with adult celiac disease, 35 to 48% of the infused gelatin was digested to dialyzable peptides, indicating a partial defect in hydrolysis of gelatin. The procedure is probably too cumbersome to be employed in the routine evaluation of malabsorption syndromes, but it off ers a precise method for the investigation of protein digestion in these conditions. 1968, The Williams & Wilkins Co.. All rights reserved.
