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 (> or = 87.5%) at a rate of 1 ml/kg/h (< or = 250 mg/kg/h) and poor (< or = 36.2%) at a rate of 5 ml/kg/h (> 250 mg/kg/h). Furthermore, these maltooligosaccharides infused as 5% solution showed good utilization (> or = 86.2%) 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.