Monograph: |
Fructose
Odourless colourless crystals or a white crystalline powder
with a sweet taste. Very or freely soluble in water; soluble I
in 15 of alcohol, and I in 14 of methyl alcohol.
Adverse Effects
Large doses of fructose given by mouth may cause
flatulence, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea. Lactic
acidosis and hyperuricaemia may follow intrave-
nous infusions, fatalities have occurred.
Urticaria in one patient associated with the ingestion of cer-
tain foods was found to be caused by D-psicose , a minor con-
stituent of high-fructose syrup, which is used as a sweetening
agent.
Precautions
Fructose should not be given to patients with hered-
itary fructose intolerance.
It should be given with caution to patients with im-
paired kidney function or severe liver damage.
Pharmacokmetics
Fructose is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract
but more slowly than glucose. It is metabolised more
rapidly than glucose, mainly in the liver where it is
phosphorylated and a part is converted to glucose:
other metabolites include lactic acid and pyruvic ac-
id. Although it has often been considered that the
metabolism of fructose is not dependent on insulin
and that insulin is not necessary for its conversion to
glycogen, glucose is a metabolic product of fructose
and requires the presence of insulin for its further
metabolism.
Uses and Administration
Fructose is sweeter than sucrose or sorbitol. It is
used as a sweetener in foods for diabetics; in the UK
it has been advised that the intake of fructose be lim-
ited to 25 g daily in persons with diabetes mellitus.
Fructose has been employed as an alternative to glu-
cose in parenteral nutrition but its use is not recom-
mended because of the risk of lactic acidosis. Use by
intravenous infusion in the treatment of severe alco-
hol poisoning is also no longer recommended.
Solutions of fructose with glucose have been used in
the treatment of nausea and vomiting in-
cluding vomiting of pregnancy.
A reiteration of the view that the use of intravenous infusions
containing fructose and sorbitol, which remain popular in
some countries, should be abandoned. Not only can they lead
to life-threatening build-up of lactic acid. they have led to fa-
talities in patients with undiagnosed hereditary fructose intol-
erance.
Fructose
Odourless colourless crystals or a white crystalline powder
with a sweet taste. Very or freely soluble in water; soluble I
in 15 of alcohol, and I in 14 of methyl alcohol.
Adverse Effects
Large doses of fructose given by mouth may cause
flatulence, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea. Lactic
acidosis and hyperuricaemia may follow intrave-
nous infusions, fatalities have occurred.
Urticaria in one patient associated with the ingestion of cer-
tain foods was found to be caused by D-psicose , a minor con-
stituent of high-fructose syrup, which is used as a sweetening
agent.
Precautions
Fructose should not be given to patients with hered-
itary fructose intolerance.
It should be given with caution to patients with im-
paired kidney function or severe liver damage.
Pharmacokmetics
Fructose is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract
but more slowly than glucose. It is metabolised more
rapidly than glucose, mainly in the liver where it is
phosphorylated and a part is converted to glucose:
other metabolites include lactic acid and pyruvic ac-
id. Although it has often been considered that the
metabolism of fructose is not dependent on insulin
and that insulin is not necessary for its conversion to
glycogen, glucose is a metabolic product of fructose
and requires the presence of insulin for its further
metabolism.
Uses and Administration
Fructose is sweeter than sucrose or sorbitol. It is
used as a sweetener in foods for diabetics; in the UK
it has been advised that the intake of fructose be lim-
ited to 25 g daily in persons with diabetes mellitus.
Fructose has been employed as an alternative to glu-
cose in parenteral nutrition but its use is not recom-
mended because of the risk of lactic acidosis. Use by
intravenous infusion in the treatment of severe alco-
hol poisoning is also no longer recommended.
Solutions of fructose with glucose have been used in
the treatment of nausea and vomiting in-
cluding vomiting of pregnancy.
A reiteration of the view that the use of intravenous infusions
containing fructose and sorbitol, which remain popular in
some countries, should be abandoned. Not only can they lead
to life-threatening build-up of lactic acid. they have led to fa-
talities in patients with undiagnosed hereditary fructose intol-
erance.
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