Non-invasive techniques for assessing carbohydrate flux: II. Measurement of deposition using 13C-glucose.

A non-invasive method for studying the dynamics of post-exercise carbohydrate storage by means of whole-body calorimetry and 13CO2 breath tests is described. Seven untrained glycogen-depleted subjects were offered naturally 13C-labelled high carbohydrate meals (97% by energy) at 30 min intervals for 5 h and asked to consume as much as possible. Mean intake averaged 757 +/- 211 (SD) g. Exogenous carbohydrate oxidation over 16 h calculated from gas exchange and isotope ratio measurements averaged 161 +/- 45 g, and endogenous carbohydrate oxidation averaged 31 +/- 25 g. Net carbohydrate storage, calculated as the difference between amount ingested and oxidized, was 563 g which was more than twice the measured hepatic and muscle carbohydrate oxidized during the depletion phase. After correction for body size the major determinant of glycogen storage was the amount of carbohydrate consumed (r = 0.97, P < 0.001) which in turn was determined by each subject's dietary tolerance. Post-repletion exercises (12 h after last meal) were used to remobilize freshly stored glycogen. 13CO2 enrichments indicated that a substantial part of the new glycogen was derived from the exogenous carbohydrate provided by the repletion meals.