GASTROINTESTINAL HYPOMOTILITY IN MAGNESIUM-DEFICIENT SHEEP

Abstract

The electrical activity of the gastrointestinal tract and gallbladder was recorded in four sheep fed a Mg-deficient diet during 10 to 15 days. The mitigating effect of intravenous infusions of MgCl2 was tested at the end of the experimental period in animals presenting hypomagnesemia. Motility of the reticulo-rumen remained unchanged in Mg-deficient sheep except that there was no postprandial increased frequency of contractions. By contrast, the contractions of gallbladder, cecum and proximal colon were reduced in both amplitude and frequency. The amplitude but not the frequency of the antro-duodenal slow-waves was reduced. The amplitude of the regular spiking activity of the small intestine was reduced as well as the number of complexes produced per day. The activity of the spiral colon was correlated to the blood magnesium concentrations but Mg infusion was unable to restore immediately the motor profile of the rest of the gut to its intitial level. This was done within 2–3 days by changes in the diet in three of the four animals. It is concluded that the motility of the whole digestive tract, including the reticulo-rumen, is modified on a Mg-deficient diet and that hypomagnesemia, involved in the atony of the spiral colon, is only one of the factors responsible for the hypomotility.