American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 24, 615-621, Copyright © 1971 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Metabolic changes after test meals with different carbohydrates: blood levels of pyruvic acid, glucose, and lactic dehydrogenase

¹ From the Research Laboratory of Human Nutrition, School of Home Economics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35486

Four married couples were given test meals containing 6 g protein, 15 g fat, and 50 g carbohydrate with 82% of the carbohydrate supplied as glucose, fructose, sucrose, cornstarch, or wheat starch. Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast and at hourly intervals for 5 hr. The increase in pyruvic acid after sucrose was as rapid as that following fructose alone and was as high or higher than anticipated from its molecular structure. There was a highly significant difference between the men and women in levels of pyruvic acid and glucose during the 1st and 2nd hr following the test meals, values being lower for the men than for the women. Lactic dehydrogenase activity for the men was higher than for the women, and the LDH isozyme bands 1 and 2 were higher for the men than the women.