THERMOGENIC, HORMONAL, AND METABOLIC EFFECTS OF A TPN MIXTURE - INFLUENCE OF GLUCOSE AND AMINO-ACIDS

The thermogenic, hormonal, and metabolic effects of intravenous nutrition were examined by administering a complete total parenteral nutrition (TPN) mixture to 11 subjects, and the relative contributions of the glucose and amino acid components of the mixture were evaluated by administering these nutrients separately (n = 7 and n = 6, respectively). The complete TPN mixture caused a 22.9% rise in resting energy expenditure (REE), which significantly exceeded that associated with glucose (10.4% P < 0.02). The rise in REE produced by the amino acids (11.5%) did not differ significantly from that associated with administration of the TPN or glucose. The rise in REE associated with the TPN was almost exactly equal to the sum of the rises associated with the separate components of the mixture (22.9% and 22.0%, respectively), indicating that glucose and amino acids contributed equally to the thermogenic effect of the TPN mixture. In contrast, although the amino acid component of the TPN mixture was associated with small but significant reductions in plasma free fatty acid and glycerol concentration and with small increases in plasma insulin concentration, the effects of the complete TPN mixture were significantly greater and attributable to the glucose component.