Relative Velocities of the Absorption of Different Sugars from the Intestine of Rat and Pigeon

Abstract

THE different velocities, with which various simple sugars are absorbed from the intestine, are among the outstanding facts which demonstrate the active part played by the intestinal mucosa during absorption. Cori¹, for example, finds for the ratio of the absorption velocities of d-galactose, d-glucose, d-fructose, (d-mannose, l-xylose and l-arabinose in the rat: 110: 100: 43: 19: 15: 9; while Verzár's pupils Wilbrandt and Laszt² find 115: 100: 44: 33: 30: 29; and McCance and Madders³ for the ratio of the last two sugars 44: 25. According to Verzar and his collaborators, the absorption of the hexoses is inhibited by monoiodoacetic acid in contrast with that of the pentoses l-xylose and l-arabinose, which should not be affected by it. This, combined with the fact that they found equal absorption velocities for these two sugars, leads them to conclude that the absorption process in the case of the pentoses is a simple diffusion from the gut to the blood.