Aim:
The study aimed at a comparison of multichannel electrogastrograms obtained after intake of comparable volumes of a liquid acaloric load (LAL) and a liquid caloric test meal (LCTM).

Material and Methods:
On two separate days eighteen healthy, Helicobacter pylori negative volunteers (9F, 9M, aged 24.4±0.9 years) drank in random order 400 ml of water (=LAL) or ingested 400 g of yoghurt (=LCTM, 378 kcal). The gastric myoelectrical activity (GMA) was registered for 30 min during the interdigestive state and for 90 min of the fed period by means of a four-channel electrogastrographic system.

Results:
400 ml water at room temperature evoked a signifi cant decrease in normogastria – from 81.3% during the fasted state to 75.5% (p=0.044), 74.2% (p=0.0091) and 71.2% (p=0.00027) within the consecutive sub-periods: 1–30 min, 31–60 min and 61–90 min, whereas the LCTM did not elicit such an eff ect. The LAL did not aff ect the dominant frequency (DF) or the dominant power (DP) of the GMA. An insignifi cant trend towards a rise of those parameters in response to yoghurt was observed. Intake of the LAL brought about a statistically signifi cant decrease in the average percentage of slow wave coupling (APSWC) from 80.7% during the interdigestive state to 74.6% (p=0.042), 74.7% (p=0.049) and 70.3% (p=0.00032) within the consecutive sub-periods: 1–30 min, 31–60 min and 61–90 min. A similar but statistically not signifi cant eff ect on the APSWC was observed after ingestion of the LCTM.

Conclusions:
Intake of a liquid acaloric load exerts a disorganizing eff ect on the gastric myoelectrical activity refl ected by a multichannel electrogastrographic recording. Such a phenomenon does not occur after ingestion of a liquid caloric test meal.