ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some aspects of the regulation of intestinal amino acid and peptide transport. It examines the influence of dietary and hormonal factors on transport across the brush border membrane and basolateral membrane. The rate of absorption of small peptides appears to be less influenced by restricted feeding than that of free amino acids. A circadian rhythm in intestinal amino acid transport entrained by food intake has been described in the rat and pig. Intestinal absorption of histidine in vivo was high during the night and low in the morning in rats fed from 3 pm to 9 pm every day for 3 weeks. There are several findings indicating that hormones are involved in control of intestinal amino acid absorption. It is an open issue whether the alterations in intestinal amino acid transport induced by various hormones reflect physiological effects.
