Regulation of Exocrine Pancreatic Secretion in Ruminants

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews results of research conducted on control mechanisms in the ruminant exocrine pancreas. It focuses on the significance of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in exocrine pancreatic regulation because they appear to be a new and unique candidate among postprandial humoral factors that regulate the exocrine pancreas of ruminants. The term “secretion” has a wide range of meanings and originally implies at least four steps: ingestion, synthesis, transportation and storage, and extrusion. The chapter describes the relationships of the nervous and systemic circulatory processes. For the regulation of exocrine pancreatic secretion in ruminants, intestinal and humoral phases are more important than cephalic and gastric phases. The role of SCFA as one of the factors affecting the exocrine pancreas is nutritionally important for some animal species such as ruminants that have a persistent digesta flow into the duodenum due to their large forestomachs. Thus, continuous digestion in the small intestine requires these animals to secrete pancreatic juice relatively continuously, associated with slow changes in the duodenal flow rate.