Utilization of Intravenously Infused Maltooligosaccharides in Rabbits

Abstract

The utilization of intravenously infused maltotriose, maltotetraose and maltopentaose was investigated in rabbits. Rabbits were infused with isotonic solutions of each maltooligosaccharide for 2 h and the utilization was assessed by the 24-h urinary loss of carbohydrates. The utilization of these maltooligosaccharides was good (≥87.5%) at a rate of 1 ml/kg/h (≤250 mg/kg/h) and poor (≤36.2%) at a rate of 5 ml/kg/h (>250 mg/kg/h). Furthermore, these maltooligosaccharides infused as 5% solution showed good utilization (≥86.2%) at a rate of 5 ml/kg/h (250 mg/kg/h). These results suggest the existence of a threshold dose in the utilization of intravenously infused maltooligosaccharides, and this threshold value in rabbits is estimated to be nearly 250 mg/kg/h.