EFFECT OF DIFFERENTLY PROCESSED COFFEE ON THE GASTRIC POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE AND INTRAGASTRIC PH IN HEALTHY-VOLUNTEERS

The gastric irritation potential of orally administered coffee (150 ml ) was investigated in four healthy volunteers by continuous measuremen t of gastric potential difference (GPD) and intragastric pH. Furthermo re, serum gastric concentrations were measured up to 45 min after admi nistration of the coffee. One of the coffees, untreated, had to be com pared with a pretreated coffee. The evaluation of the target parameter s Reiz-Index, AUB, Pd-max and t(tot) revealed a significant difference between measured coffee and specially treated coffee: the improved co ffee processing produced significantly less mucosal irritation. Regard ing the intragastric pH, no significant differences between the treatm ents were observed and no stimulation of gastric acid secretion follow ing coffee was measurable. No consistent effect on serum gastric conce ntration was seen: two of the four subjects had a steep increase in se rum gastrin following administration with a clear difference between t he different processed coffees, whereas the other two subjects showed no change in serum gastrin. The results of this pilot study confirm th e findings of former experiments on reliability of continuous transmur al GPD measurement when investigating the mucosal irritation potential of barrier breakers. (C) 1998 Prous Science. All right reserved.