Further studies on the effect of octanoate on glucose metabolism in dogs

Studies were carried out in anesthetized dogs to elucidate the mechanism of action of octanoate on glucose metabolism.Octanoate infusion in intact healthy dogs significantly decreased plasma glucose concentration, and in four out of seven dogs it raised plasma insulin concentration in peripheral blood. In contrast, intravenous administration of octanoate in four totally pancreatectomized dogs produced only small changes in plasma glucose concentration. These data suggest that the hypoglycemic action of octanoate may be mediated by increased secretion of insulin.The mean k value ([Formula: see text] of plasma glucose concentration) of intravenous glucose tolerance tests was significantly higher (2.38/minute) in healthy dogs that received an infusion of octanoate than in dogs that did not (1.2/minute). Octanoate also produced in healthy dogs greater increases in plasma insulin concentrations of peripheral blood during the tolerance tests. Furthermore, when delivered during a continuous intravenous administration of glucose (about 8 mg/kg per minute), octanoate infusion had no effect on either plasma glucose concentration or the rate of disappearance of glucose-U-14C from plasma to tissues. These findings indicate that octanoate does not impair glucose utilization in healthy dogs but actually improves tolerance of an intravenous glucose load, probably by stimulating greater release of insulin. These findings in vivo are discussed in the light of opposite effects of octanoate in vitro, to be described elsewhere, on glucose metabolism in the isolated heart and fat pad of rats.