The presence of vitamin D receptors in small intestine muscle cells may lead one to think that vitamin D may act locally, infl uencing intracellular calcium concentration and contributing to the contraction-relaxation regulation of the intestinal smooth muscle cells. This study investigates the potential eff ects of vitamin D and calcium on intestinal motility using an in vitro test. ) was added aft er at least 3 hours, it evoked evident and persistent contractions for 60-90 minutes. The contractions were at about 40 % of the peak produced by acetylcholine. Thus, simultaneous intake of vitamin D and calcium might be a useful co-adjuvant in intestinal atony therapy aimed to stimulate normal gut motility in humans. These fi ndings imply that supplemental vitamin D may be important in all cases where calcium has to be prescribed. Health consequences of vitamin D defi ciency are important; recent studies confi rm that vitamin D defi ciency is widespread in children and elderly people (3, 4). Vitamin D