Exercise and the oxidation and storage of glucose, maize-syrup solids and sucrose determined from breath 13CO2

In order to determine which of maize syrup solids, glucose and sucrose were more readily oxidised during exercise and least readily oxidised afterwards, the rates of oxidation of three almost identical isoenergetic solutions of carbohydrates (330 ml of 18.5% w/v solutions of glucose, maize syrup solids and sucrose, 989-1050 kJ total energy) naturally enriched with 13C were examined at rest and during and after 1 h uphill walking at 75% maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) in nine subjects [mean (SEM) VO2max, 45.4 (0.9) ml.kg-1.min-1]. Rates of production of expired 13CO2 were used to estimate rates of oxidation of each exogenous substrate. Energy expenditure and the contributions from total carbohydrate and fat oxidation were calculated from whole-body gas exchange. At rest, maize syrup solids were oxidised less than sucrose during the 1st h [glucose 2.7 (0.2) g.h-1, maize syrup solids 1.9 (0.3) g.h-1, sucrose 3.7 (0.2) g.h-1; maize syrup solids vs sucrose P < 0.01], but this difference disappeared after a further 3 h at rest [glucose 8.3 (0.5) g.h-1, maize syrup solids 7.7 (0.5) g.h-1, sucrose 8.1 (0.4) g.h-1]. During exercise, all the carbohydrates were oxidised to the same extent [glucose 23.0 (2.8) g.h-1, maize syrup solids 23.9 (3.4) g.h-1, sucrose 27.5 (2.6) g.h-1) but during 4 h of recovery after exercise, maize syrup solids were oxidised least [glucose 4.6 (0.1) g.h-1, maize syrup solids 3.7 (0.1) g.h-1, sucrose 6.4 (0.1) g.h-1; P < 0.05] suggesting that it may be stored to a greater extent. The results suggest that 18.5% glucose, maize syrup solids and sucrose solutions were equally well oxidised during exercise. During recovery from exercise maize syrup solids were oxidised less than glucose, which in turn was oxidised less than sucrose.