Effect of a single oral dose of enprostil on gastric secretion and gastrin release. Studies in healthy volunteers and patients with pernicious anemia.

In healthy human volunteers, a single oral dose of enprostil (35 micrograms) inhibited basal gastric acid output by a mean of 71 percent, pentagastrin-stimulated output by 46 percent, sham-meal-stimulated output by 48 percent, and histamine-stimulated output by 16 percent. In each case, there was a reduction in both the volume and acidity of the gastric juice. Pepsin output was unchanged. Although enprostil increased the gastric pH, it did not induce basal or post-prandial hypergastrinemia. In patients with hypergastrinemia secondary to achlorhydria, enprostil lowered the basal gastrin level and reduced or abolished the post-prandial gastrin rise in a dose-related fashion. Enprostil reduces basal and stimulated gastric acid secretion and inhibits gastrin release.