Utilization of Intravenously Infused Maltooligosaccharides in Rabbits

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 (g87.5%) at a rate of 1 ml/kg/h (l250 mg/kg/h) and poor (l36.2%) at a rate of 5 ml/kg/h (>250 mg/kg/h). Furthermore, these maltooligosaccharides infused as 5% solution showed good utilization (g86.2%) 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.