EFFECT OF CAPSAICIN ON INTESTINAL GLUCOSE-METABOLISM INVITRO

The role of capsaicin upon intestinal glucose utilization and lactic acid production was studied in everted sacs of rat and hamster jejunum. In both the rat and the hamster, glucose transport was respectively inhibited by 45.8 and 38.7% when 14.0 mg% capsaicin was incubated at pH 7.4 for 60 min. However, when intestinal glucose metabolism was diminished by reducing the pH of the incubation medium from 7.4 to 5.0, the inhibitory effect of capsaicin was significantly reduced. Direct determination of the extent of the intestinal glucose metabolism as affected by capsaicin revealed a significantly (P < 0.005) greater glucose utilization (23.0% in the rat and 24.9% in the hamster) and lactic acid formation (13.8% in the rat and 88.4% in the hamster). These results indicate that the depression of intestinal glucose transport by capsaicin may in part be due to a greater metabolic breakdown of glucose into lactic acid. © 1979.