Which single nutrient, when present in the duodenal chyme, most strongly retards gastric emptying?
- A Monosaccharides such as glucose
- B Amino acids alone
- C Fat (triglyceride) ✓
- D Isotonic saline
Explanation
Fat is the most potent inhibitor of gastric emptying. Duodenal lipid releases cholecystokinin, which relaxes the proximal stomach and pylorus coordination and contracts the pyloric sphincter, and it also stimulates GIP and other enterogastrones that slow antral motility. Hyperosmolar chyme and amino acids also delay emptying but less powerfully than fat. Isotonic saline leaves emptying essentially unchanged. This feedback ensures chyme enters the duodenum only as fast as it can be digested.
Reference: Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology, 26th ed.
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