Facultative thermogenesis induced by carbohydrate: a skeletal muscle component mediated by epinephrine

In addition to the obligatory thermogenesis due to processing and storage, carbohydrate ingestion is accompanied by a facultative thermogenesis mediated by catecholamines via beta-adrenoceptors. The anatomical origin of facultative thermogenesis has hitherto not been determined. The possible involvement of skeletal muscle was examined in lean, healthy subjects by measuring the response in forearm oxygen consumption to an oral glucose load. The study demonstrates an early component of skeletal muscle thermogenesis coinciding with the local glucose uptake, followed by a late facultative thermogenesis. The arterial epinephrine concentration increased to a maximum of 200% above base-line values 4 h after glucose. This value greatly exceeds the physiological threshold for the thermogenic action of epinephrine. In forearm venous blood the corresponding increase in epinephrine was only approximately 50% due to enhanced peripheral extraction, which accompanies an increase in arterial epinephrine levels. Due to venous sampling previous studies have overlooked the magnitude of the late postglucose increase in arterial epinephrine, and its potential thermogenic effect has been disregarded. The facultative thermogenesis in skeletal muscle may be of importance for the regulation of body weight in humans.