Effects of fasting and semistarvation on the kinetics of active and passive sugar absorption across the small intestine in vivo.

The effects of dietary restriction on the kinetics of absorption in vivo of glucose, galactose and alpha-methyl glucoside were assessed by electrical and chemical methods in the rat jejunum. 2. The 'apparent Km', maximum absorption or Vmax (mu-mole/10 cm. 15 min) and maximum potential difference (p.d.max) were obtained for the jejunal electrogenic active transfer mechanism from the transfer p.d.s and the chemical absorption data corrected for diffusion using various graphical kinetic plots. 3. Fasting for 3 days greatly decreased the 'apparent Kms', obtained from electrical or chemical data, for all the sugars but had no effect on those for L-valine or L-methionine. Semistarvation caused a less pronounced reduction of the 'apparent Kms' for the sugars. The dietary-induced change in 'apparent Km' for glucose was also observed in the fasted hamster. One interpretation of these changes is that the affinity of the carriers for sugars increases during dietary restriction; the greater the level of restriction the greater the increase. 4. Fasting and semistarvation caused large reductions in the Vmax. These reductions were correlated with a reduced enterocyte population estimated by changes in enterocyte column size. 5. The reduction in the Vmax for galactose was mainly accounted for by the decrease in enterocyte population. In the case of glucose, other factors such as reduced enterocyte metabolism or changes in the carriers must be involved to explain the discrepancy between the large decrease in Vmax and the enterocyte column size. 6. Fasting and semi-starvation had complex, differential actions on the p.d.max for glucose, galactose and alpha-methyl glucoside. These changes did not correlate with those observed in the Vmax measured chemically. 7. A standard diet obtained from two commercial sources was found to differ greatly in its effect on the electrogenic transfer system for alpha-methyl glucoside but had no effect on those for galactose and glucose.