The Effect of Intra-arterial Insulin and Glucagon on the Glucose Metabolism of the Small Intestine in the Dog

The authors have examined the effect of locally (intra-artcrially) given insulin and glucagon on the absorption and portal transport of glucose from the isolated jejunal loop of the dog. The insulin rcduccd significantly the rate of portal glucose transport, while the quantity of glucosc absorbed remained unchanged. Under the influence of glucagon the blood flow through the isolated intestinal loop and the rate of the portal glucose transport both increased. In the majority of the cases an amount of sugar exceeding the quantity of the glucose that disappeared from the lumen of the intestine appeared in the venous blood of the jejunal loop during the experimental period. On the basis of their experiments the authors suggest the ability of glucagon to mobilize glucose from the intestinal wall.