Secretion of trophic gut peptides is not different in bolus- and continuously fed piglets

In neonates, bolus feeding is associated with greater rates of intestinal growth than is continuous feeding. We tested whether the concentrations and secretion rates of trophic gut peptides are higher in bolus-fed than in continuously fed piglets. Five 21-d-old piglets were surgically implanted with gastric, arterial and portal catheters and a portal blood flow probe. At postnatal d 30 and 31, pigs received an equal amount of primed continuous or bolus feeding of a cow's milk formula in a randomized, crossover design. During a 6-h period, portal blood flow and arterial and portal concentrations of glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2), peptide YY (PYY) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) were measured. All hormone levels were significantly increased within 1 h of the start of the experiment, independent of the feeding modality. There were no differences between bolus and continuous feeding in either the arterial concentrations or secretion rates of GLP-2, PYY and GIP. In both treatment groups, the increases in the plasma concentrations of GLP-2 and GIP after feeding were substantially greater than those for PYY. We conclude that the production or circulating concentrations of GLP-2, PYY and GIP are not significantly different in bolus- and primed continuously fed piglets.