Influence of Dietary 1,3-Butanediol on Blood Ketone Levels and on Glucose Metabolism in the Dog 1

Abstract

Summary

Adult dogs were fed carbohydrate-free diets containing 20% of metabol-izable energy from 1,3-butanediol (BD) or from tallow. Each dog received a 750-kcal diet each day, of which 290 kcal were in the form of protein; consumption of these diets resulted in only slight changes in body weight during the 3-week experiment. Blood β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate levels were elevated severalfold after dogs consumed a meal containing BD. Parameters of glucose metabolism were estimated after a single injection of [6-³H]- and [U-¹⁴C]glucose. The glucose replacement rate averaged 4.9 mg/min/kg and was not influenced by the diet fed. Likewise, estimates of glucose-carbon recycling and glucose body mass were not altered when BD was fed, although plasma glucose levels in the BD-fed animals were significantly lower. Consumption of a diet containing 20% of energy from BD and adequate amounts of gluco-genic precursors increased circulating ke-tone levels but did not alter glucose metabolism in the adult dog.

The authors wish to acknowledge the technical assistance of Kathleen Muiruri and Linda Brady.