Effect of acarbose on exocrine and endocrine pancreatic function in the rat

Exocrine and endocrine pancreatic function were studied simultaneously in the isolated perfused pancreas from rats fed a normal or an acarbose-containing diet (150 mg/100 g food) for 20 days. Body weight gain of acarbose-treated rats was slightly lower than that of control rats, despite a larger food intake. Basal and caerulein-stimulated flow rates of pancreatic juice from acarbose-treated rat pancreases were similar to those from controls, suggesting that the treated rat pancreas has normal sensitivity and responsiveness to caerulein. On the other hand, amylase output in response to caerulein was significantly decreased in acarbose-treated rat pancreases, though basal output was normal. The addition of acarbose to the diet for 20 days had no effect on the speed of the insulin response to glucose and caerulein, but the magnitude of insulin secretion to glucose stimulation was reduced by 40% and the caerulein-induced additional output of insulin by 30% in the treated group as compared with the control group. The present investigation has demonstrated that inhibition of key enzymes for carbohydrate digestion decreases not only the secretory responsiveness of amylase from acinar cells to caerulein stimulation but also the sensitivity of the insulin-secretory mechanism of pancreatic B cells to glucose and non-glucose stimulation.