We have studied the effects of spontaneous diabetes in BB/Phi rats on hormone release in response to amino acids (15 mM) and to amino acids (15 mM) plus glucose (10 mM) from isolated perfused pancreas/stomach/duodenum/spleen (PSDS) and from isolated perfused pancreas (P) preparations. In the PSDS preparation, diabetes reduced total integrated insulin output by 97% (from 1146 +/- 198 to 40 +/- 24 ng/65 min, P less than 0.001), and glucagon output by about 50% (from 51.6 +/- 13.1 to 24.0 +/- 3.7 ng/65 min, P less than 0.05), whereas somatostatin output did not change (105.5 +/- 48.1 to 110.1 +/- 36.9 ng/65 min). In the P preparation, integrated glucagon output fell by 91% (from 97.9 +/- 26.8 to 8.6 +/- 4.8 ng/65 min, P less than 0.01) whereas integrated somatostatin output more than doubled (from 28.1 +/- 7.5 to 69.6 +/- 14.2 ng/65 min, P less than 0.05). Intestinal glucagon and somatostatin contributions were estimated by comparing hormone release from the PSDS with that from the P preparations. We conclude that in our nondiabetic BB/Phi rats, the pancreas was the only source for the release of glucagon and that the intestinal tract secreted more somatostatin than the pancreas. In the diabetic BB/Phi rats, pancreatic glucagon and insulin release was virtually abolished while glucagon secretion from the intestinal tract increased and somatostatin secretion decreased.