Amylase in rat serum, submaxillary gland and liver following pilocarpine administration or normal feeding

¹ Departments of Dentistry and Physiology, University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama

Amylase levels have been determined for serum, submaxillary gland and liver of unstimulated and stimulated 48-hour fasted rats. Stimulation was by subcutancous administration of pilocarpine or by ad libitum feeding. Without stimulation, amylase levels of both liver and submaxillary gland were lower than that of serum. After stimulation by either means, amylase levels rose, but not proportionately, in serum, liver and submaxillary gland. The rise in liver amylase can be accounted for by increased amylase level of extracellular fluid. Rise in submaxillary gland amylase greatly exceeds that of serum and in this tissue may reach a value three to six times that of serum. An active process of amylase accumulation by submaxillary gland, possibly as a result of new synthesis, must be considered to account for this accumulation.

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