Effect of chyme viscosity and nutrient feedback mechanism on gastric emptying

Thomas E Moxon,Philippe Nimmegeers,Dries Telen,Peter J Fryer,Jan Van Impe,Serafim Bakalis

doi:10.1016/j.ces.2017.05.048

Thomas E Moxon, Philippe Nimmegeers + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2017.05.048

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Abstract

A comprehensive mathematical model of the digestive processes in humans could allow for better design of functional foods which may play a role in stemming the prevalence of food related diseases around the world. This work presents a mathematical model for a nutrient based feedback mechanism controlling gastric emptying, which has been identified in vivo by numerous researchers. The model also takes into account the viscosity of nutrient meals upon gastric secretions and emptying. The results show that modelling the nutrient feedback mechanism as an on/off system, with an initial emptying rate dependent upon the secretion rate (which is a function of the gastric chyme viscosity) provides a good fit to the trends of emptying rate for liquid meals of low and high nutrient content with varying viscosity.

Highlights

IntroductionNumerical modelling of the digestive system has been carried out from both a pharmacokinetic (Di Muria et al, 2010; Peng and Cheung, 2009; Stoll et al, 2000; Yu et al, 1996), and a food science perspective (Bastianelli et al, 1996; Dalla Man et al, 2006; Logan et al, 2002; Moxon et al, 2016; Penry and Jumars, 1986, 1987; Taghipoor et al, 2012, 2014)
The paper presents a mathematical model to describe the gastric emptying rate of nutrient liquid meals of varying viscosity. To achieve this an attempt was made to model the nutrient initiated feedback mechanism present between the proximal small intestine and the pyloric sphincter The results indicate that with the estimation of two parameters: an initial emptying rate (c0) and a feedback cut off point (Amax), the model can produce simulations to show the differing trends between low and high nutrient meals
This model was developed further to take into account the gastric secretions induced through meal viscosity and the subsequent effect on the parameter c0, this model predicted the increased secretion rate due to gastric chyme viscosity and subsequent rapid reduction in the viscosity values

Summary

Introduction

Numerical modelling of the digestive system has been carried out from both a pharmacokinetic (Di Muria et al, 2010; Peng and Cheung, 2009; Stoll et al, 2000; Yu et al, 1996), and a food science perspective (Bastianelli et al, 1996; Dalla Man et al, 2006; Logan et al, 2002; Moxon et al, 2016; Penry and Jumars, 1986, 1987; Taghipoor et al, 2012, 2014). The stomach is typically described as a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR), whereas the small intestine has been described as a single CSTR, multiple CSTRs in series, or as a Plug Flow Reactor (PFR). Most of these models take only the dosage of the nutrient or drug into account when modelling the absorption, ignoring the physical properties of the meal, such as viscosity, and the interactions with the digestive system or other meal components. The aim is to develop a model which takes into account physical and chemical properties of the meal and can provide a greater understanding of food digestion. This could help in the development of functional foods to combat diet related diseases, such as obesity and type-2 diabetes, which are becoming increasingly more prevalent in modern society (Popkin, 2006; Jew et al, 2009)

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