Glucose Utilization in Pregnant Sheep by a Continuous Infusion Isotope Dilution Method

Abstract

THE importance of carbohydrate as a metabolic substrate in the ruminant has given rise to much discussion¹. The question of the source(s) of glucose is of special interest because there is no evidence that hexose is absorbed from the ruminant alimentary tract and because acetate is the major end product of ruminal fermentation. The fœtal lamb, however, has considerable hexose requirements², and, as a consequence, it is thought that the pregnant female sheep is normally in a precarious state of carbohydrate balance³. It is known that even a slight fall in food intake in the pregnant sheep may cause the accumulation of ketone bodies in the tissues and blood stream followed by clinical signs of pregnancy toxæmia.