[Changes in intragastric proteolytic activity in patients with obesity and possibilities of its dietetic correction]

Patients suffering from alimentary obesity were examined for intragastric proteolysis (IP) before and after meal. The buffer action of the food was estimated in vitro according to changes in pH of gastric juice after it gets connected with the products. Food intake exerting an appreciable buffer action promotes effective correction of the high pH in obese patients. According to the data obtained, the buffer properties of the products are determined by the magnitude of protein contained by them and by the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of the given nutrient. Fish, beef, chickens, cheese, cottage cheese and eggs possess the highest buffer properties whereas tea, stewed fruit, fruit, juices and boiled sausage the least ones. Vegetables, milk, kefir and bread occupy an intermediate position. There is a direct correlation between the level of IP on an empty stomach and the degree of its lowering after meal, attesting to the homeostatic nature of the process of protein digestion in the stomach. The presence of that correlation is maintained owing to variation of hydrochloric acid output under postprandial conditions.