Premium
Is Exogenous Fructose Metabolism Truly Insulin Independent?
Author(s) -
Fryburg David A.,
Gelfand Robert A.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.935
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1941-2444
pISSN - 0148-6071
DOI - 10.1177/0148607190014005535
Subject(s) - fructose , endocrinology , medicine , insulin , hexose , metabolism , calorie , plasma glucose , chemistry , carbohydrate metabolism , in vivo , biology , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , enzyme
Although fructose is widely regarded as an insulin‐independent fuel source, its in vivo conversion to glucose represents a theoretical limitation to its clinical usefulness in diabetics, particularly if given in large doses. To determine whether small amounts of fructose can be well utilized in the setting of insulinopenia, we administered a low‐dose fructose infusion (4.2 g/hr) to a fasting type 1 diabetic patient receiving continuous subcutaneous insulin at a dose that had previously maintained stable euglycemia for 72 hr (plasma glucose = 80–110 mg/dl). Despite the low infusion rate (<20% of calorie requirement), fructose caused an immediate and marked rise in plasma glucose (to 370 mg/dl after 27 hr). Glucose loss in the urine and accumulation in plasma could account for fully half of the administered hexose load. Thus, the utilization of even small quantities of exogenous fructose is profoundly impaired under hypoinsulinemic conditions. It is misleading to regard fructose as a truly insulin‐independent fuel source. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 14: 535–537, 1990)