Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026

Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
Fructose malabsorption in children with functional digestive disorders
Adriana Chebar Lozinsky1, Cristiane Boé, Ricardo Palmero
1Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Departamento de Pediatria, SP, Brasil.
Context:
Fructose is a monosaccharide frequently present in natural and artificial juice fruits. When the concentration of fructose in certain food is present in excess of glucose concentration some individuals may develop fructose malabsorption.
Objectives:
To report the frequency of fructose malabsorption utilizing the hydrogen breath test in children with gastrointestinal and/or nutritional disorders.
Methods:
Between July 2011 and July 2012, 43 patients with gastrointestinal and/or nutritional disorders, from both sexes, were consecutively studied, utilizing the hydrogen breath test with loads of the following carbohydrates: lactose, glucose, fructose and lactulose. Fructose was offered in a 10% aqueous solution in the dose of 1 g/kg body weight. Samples were collected fasting and at every 15 minutes after the intake of the aqueous solution for a 2 hour period. Malabsorption was considered when there was an increase of >20 ppm of hydrogen over the fasting level, and intolerance was diagnosed if gastrointestinal symptoms would appear.
Results:
The age of the patients varied from 3 months to 16 years, 24 were boys. The following diagnosis were established: irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea in 16, functional abdominal pain in 8, short stature in 10, lactose intolerance in 3, celiac disease in 1, food allergy in 1 and giardiasis in 1 patient. Fructose malabsorption was characterized in 13 (30.2%) patients, and intolerance in 1 (2.3%) patient. The most frequent fructose malabsorption was characterized in 7 (16.3%) patients with irritable bowel syndrome and in 4 (9.3%) patients with functional abdominal pain.
Conclusions:
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome and functional abdominal pain were the main cause of fructose malabsorption.
Related Concept Videos
Glucose Transporters
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:
Carbohydrate Absorption
After being swallowed, the partially digested carbohydrates mix with gastric secretions in the stomach. However, the acidic environment...
Inborn Errors of Metabolism
Glucose Absorption Into the Small Intestine
Cystic Fibrosis: Pathogenesis
CF is primarily caused by a genetic mutation in a chromosome 7 gene coding for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. The most common gene mutation leading to CF is the ΔF508 mutation,...
Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...

