Title : Iso-osmo-resistivity could explain mechanisms of digestion and absorption
Abstract:
Research into suitable meals for epigastric impedance found that lipid meals like ones containing double cream are highly resistant to electricity while proteins are conductive and carbohydrates are broadly neutral. The finding provoked the question: “Is this the basis by which our digestion selects the appropriate enzyme and ‘knows’ when to release bile for its surfactant effect on lipids?” The idea is discussed in The Journal of Medical Hypotheses in 2019. To do it would require nerve endings in the duodenal mucosa to act as electroreceptors, as previously suggested by Andres et al due to the marked histological similarity between human Brunner’s Glands and proven electroreceptors in the mammalian monotreme species echidna and platypus. If duodenal nerve endings function in this way they would detect the effect of enzymes as they break down lipids or when bile causes micelles. Then, if their data were combined with data from osmoreceptors, the combination would simultaneously detect break up of molecules to make a very sensitive, feedback loop on the progress of digestion. That concept also suggested that the aim of digestion is to render food both iso-osmotic and iso-resistive so it can pass through the cells that line the gut, the first step in absorption.
