1. The stimulatory action of propionate on colonic electrolyte transport and involvement of the enteric reflex in this was studied in vitro using an Ussing chamber in the rat. The short-circuit current (Isc) and bidirectional fluxes of Na+ and Cl- were measured. Mucosa-submucosa preparations, containing the submucosal nerve, from the distal colon were used in most cases. 2. Mucosal application of propionate caused transient increases in the transmural potential difference, with the mucosal side negative, Isc and conductance. Serosal application of the acid had no effect. 3. Adaptation of the Isc response occurred when the acid was applied to the bathing solution cumulatively without washing out the first dose. If tissues were washed and held more than 20 min before the next application, the response was almost completely restored. 4. The increase in Isc in response to propionate was concentration dependent, with a 50% effective concentration of approximately 7 x 10(-5) M. 5. Two other short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), n-butyrate and n-valerate, but not acetate, increased Isc when added to the mucosal bathing solution. 6. Bumetanide (3 x 10(-5) M) and the serosal chloride-free condition, but not amiloride (10(-4) M), inhibited the responses of Isc to propionate. Propionate-stimulated Cl- secretion resulted mainly from an increase in unidirectional serosal-to-mucosal Cl- movement. Propionate did not affect the Na+ flux. 7. Tetrodotoxin (10(-7) M), somatostatin (10(-7) M) and hexamethonium (10(-4) M) inhibited the propionate-evoked increase in Isc by 40, 70 and 30%, respectively. 8. Atropine (10(-5) M) also inhibited the Isc-increase response to propionate more than 90%. 9. Pre-treatment (2 min) of the mucosal surface with procaine (5 x 10(-4) M) inhibited the propionate-evoked increase in Isc by 90%. 10. The results suggest that luminal propionate transiently stimulated the colonic chloride secretory response that is not due to direct action on colonocytes, but due in large part to release of acetylcholine at neuro-colonocyte junctions, probably via an enteric reflex involving a mucosal sensory mechanism, cholinergic motor nerves and submucosal ganglia.