Liver Glycogen in Man –- the Effect of Total Starvation or a Carbohydrate-Poor Diet Followed by Carbohydrate Refeeding

Liver glycogen content was determined in specimens obtained by repeated percutaneous biopsies during starvation and under various dietary conditions in 19 human subjects. During rest and following an overnight fast, there was a decrease in liver glycogen content by a mean of 0.30 mmol glucosyl units per kg wet liver tissue per min during a further 4 hours' starvation. Prolonged starvation or carbohydrate-poor normocaloric diet decreased the liver glycogen from a mean of 232 to 24–55 mmol glucosyl units per kg within 24 hours. During an additional period of up to 9 days on the carbohydrate-poor diet the liver glycogen remained at a low level. Refeeding with a carbohydrate-rich diet gave a rapid increase of the liver glycogen to supernormal values, 424–624 mmol glucosyl units per kg wet liver tissue.