Enteroglucagon is a sixty-nine amino-acid peptide. The L cells that secrete it are most abundant in the colonic mucosa, but are also present in the ileum. Enteroglucagon promotes gut growth and is important in gut adaptation, the amount of enteroglucagon secreted being proportional to the amount of unabsorbed food entering the colon. Enteroglucagon is further cleaved by the L cells to produce oxyntomodulin, which still retains the glucagon sequence; this peptide is secreted in smaller quantities than enteroglucagon, but is released into the circulation and inhibits secretion of gastric acid.
