Journal September 27, 2026 5 min read

What markers track gastric emptying?

Gastric emptying is tracked by a defined set of physiological and imaging markers, from scintigraphic half-time to hormonal and neural readouts. This page maps the markers used across animal, in vitro and clinical resear

peptides-pro Editorial

Gastric emptying is the transit of gastric contents into the duodenum, and the marker most often used to quantify it is the solid-meal gastric emptying half-time (T½), measured by standardized scintigraphy. In the research literature, gastric emptying is also described through route-specific gastric transit, gastroparesis and gastric motility endpoints, and through hormonal readouts such as GLP-1 and ghrelin responses [4]. Where a compound is named, its identifiers are those given by the source: amylin is a pancreatic β-cell hormone co-secreted with insulin [3], and GLP-1 is a peptide hormone whose receptor (GLP-1R) is the target of exenatide/exendin-4 (Ex4), liraglutide, dulaglutide and semaglutide [5].

The pathway the work centres on is the brain-gut axis, which regulates gastrointestinal function through vagal and hormonal signalling, including the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) and the GLP-1 receptor family [1][5].

Research Studies

Oestrogen and stress-induced vagally-dependent gastric responses to oxytocin

In female Sprague-Dawley rats, gastric emptying was slower when oestrogen levels were high, and stress had no further effect on that measure. Whole-cell recordings showed that oxytocin suppressed GABAergic transmission to DMV neurons under non-stressed conditions regardless of oestrogen level, a result the authors contrast with previous reports in male rats [1].

Amylin-based pharmacotherapy and slowing of gastric emptying

Amylin contributes to postprandial glucose regulation, slows gastric emptying, suppresses glucagon secretion, and promotes satiation through central nervous system actions. Long-acting amylin-based agents developed through peptide engineering, lipidation and reversible albumin binding include cagrilintide, eloralintide, petrelintide and NN1213 [3].

GLP-1 receptor agonists and gastric emptying delay

GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic the natural hormone glucagon-like peptide-1; these agents trigger pancreatic insulin release and delay gastric emptying. Liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide are named in this context [8]. Preclinical work in male animals reports that systemic Ex4 reduces alcohol intake, motivation to consume alcohol, and relapse-like behaviour, with alcohol consummatory behaviours also reduced in male or female animals treated with longer-acting agonists [5].

Bariatric endoscopic antral myotomy combined with fundal gastric mucosal ablation

The gastric fundus regulates appetite through orexigenic ghrelin-mediated and anorexigenic visceroceptive pathways, and endoscopic gastric fundal mucosal ablation (GFMA) is expected to shrink the fundus and reduce gastric volume. Gastric emptying is named as another potential target, having been found more rapid after prolonged high-fat diet exposure in both animal and human studies [2].

Transit bipartition after sleeve gastrectomy and solid-meal T½

A prospective, single-centre study of adults undergoing revisional conversion from sleeve gastrectomy to intestinal transit bipartition will enrol forty participants. The primary outcome is the within-participant change in solid-meal gastric emptying half-time (T½) by standardized scintigraphy from baseline to 6 months; secondary and exploratory outcomes include reflux symptoms, DeMeester score and acid exposure, route-specific gastric transit, GLP-1 and ghrelin responses, glucose metabolism, fecal elastase, gut microbiota and body-weight trajectory [4].

Neostigmine acupoint injection at Zusanli (ST36) in ventilation-associated gastrointestinal dysfunction

In the ICU, more than 60% of mechanically ventilated patients experience gastrointestinal dysfunction. Proposed contributors include increased intra-abdominal pressure from positive-pressure ventilation, which inhibits gastrointestinal motility, along with inflammatory responses, prolonged bed rest, electrolyte imbalances, and use of sedatives, analgesics and muscle relaxants. Gastroparesis and constipation are named manifestations [6].

Tail-suspension model of simulated microgravity-induced functional dyspepsia

Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to control, hindlimb-unloading (HU) and domperidone groups, with the HU model induced by 21-day tail suspension. Behavioural tests included sucrose preference and novelty-suppressed feeding, alongside gastrointestinal motility and brain-gut peptide measures [7].

Markers compared across study designs

Marker	Model or population	Source
Solid-meal gastric emptying half-time (T½), scintigraphy	Adults converting from sleeve gastrectomy to intestinal transit bipartition	[4]
Gastric emptying rate under high oestrogen	Female Sprague-Dawley rats	[1]
GABAergic transmission to DMV neurons	Rat whole-cell recordings	[1]
Gastric emptying delay	GLP-1 receptor agonist pharmacotherapy	[8]
Gastric emptying slowing	Amylin-based agents	[3]
Gastric volume and fundal ghrelin pathways	Endoscopic gastric fundal mucosal ablation	[2]
Gastroparesis and constipation	Mechanically ventilated ICU patients	[6]
Gastrointestinal motility and brain-gut peptides	Male Wistar rats, tail suspension	[7]

Where the evidence is animal-only or in vitro

Several of the mechanisms above rest on animal or ex vivo work. The oestrogen and oxytocin findings derive from female rats and whole-cell recordings [1]; the Ex4 and longer-acting agonist findings derive from preclinical studies in male and female animals [5]; and the microgravity-induced functional dyspepsia findings derive from male Wistar rats [7]. The transit bipartition and ST36 studies are registered clinical protocols, and their outcomes are not yet reported here [4][6].

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