Variation in D-glucose uptake along the intestinal tract

The variation in D-glucose uptake along the intestinal tract was examined by dividing the entire rat small intestine into 10 segments of equal length and by using everted sacs. The superiority of jejunum to ileum in D-glucose uptake, which is generally accepted, was supported by this work. It was attributed mainly to the variation in the maximal transport velocity of the Michaelis-Menten type carrier-mediated transport system with a clear kinetic border in the distal location of the small intestine, between segments 7 and 8. Information obtained in this study is useful for understanding and estimating the absorption process, or the time-course of absorption, of D-glucose as it passes down in the intestinal tract.