Delayed protein digestion in the alligator following carbonic anhydrase inhibition.

Small alligators were injected with a carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitor (dichlorphenamide) and a day later they were fed large amounts of lean beef. The rate of protein digestion was determined and compared with that in controls fed the same amount. The controls began digestion at once, while in the CA-inhibited ones, digestion was blocked for over 10 hr. The inhibitor decreased gastric HCl production to one-third that in controls and delayed activation of pancreatic and intestinal proteases. After 15 hr, digestion began in the inhibited group and proceeded to completion. Once digestion began, further injections of the inhibitor could not block it. It seems that CA inhibition blocks digestion (for a time) by reducing HCl synthesis. NaHCO3 to neutralize the acid chyme in the intestine, was derived from that in the plasma.