Muscle glycogen recovery after exercise during glucose and fructose intake monitored by13C-NMR

Abstract

Van Den Bergh, Adrianus J., Sibrand Houtman, Arend Heerschap, Nancy J. Rehrer, Hendrikus J. Van Den Boogert, Berend Oeseburg, and Maria T. E. Hopman. Muscle glycogen recovery after exercise during glucose and fructose intake monitored by 13 C-NMR. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(4): 1495–1500, 1996.—The purpose of this study was to examine muscle glycogen recovery with glucose feeding (GF) compared with fructose feeding (FF) during the first 8 h after partial glycogen depletion by using 13 C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on a clinical 1.5-T NMR system. After measurement of the glycogen concentration of the vastus lateralis (VL) muscle in seven male subjects, glycogen stores of the VL were depleted by bicycle exercise. During 8 h after completion of exercise, subjects were orally given either GF or FF while the glycogen content of the VL was monitored by 13 C-NMR spectroscopy every second hour. The muscular glycogen concentration was expressed as a percentage of the glycogen concentration measured before exercise. The glycogen recovery rate during GF (4.2 ± 0.2%/h) was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) compared with values during FF (2.2 ± 0.3%/h). This study shows that 1) muscle glycogen levels are perceptible by 13 C-NMR spectroscopy at 1.5 T and 2) the glycogen restoration rate is higher after GF compared with after FF.