Plasma lactate and urate concentrations following oral fructose in patients with liver disease

Plasma lactate and urate concentrations, following 50 g oral fructose, were compared in 12 control subjects and 13 patients with liver disease. No serious adverse effects occurred following fructose ingestion, and in neither group did the plasma lactate concentration exceed 5.2 mmol/l. There were no significant differences in plasma lactate and urate concentration between the patients or controls in either the fasting state or following fructose ingestion. It is concluded that oral fructose, in contrast to intravenous fructose infusion, is unlikely to produce lactic acidosis in patients with liver disease. Also an oral fructose tolerance test based on the measurement of post-fructose plasma lactate or urate concentrations is of no value as a test of liver function.