The present study examined the oxidation of exogenous galactose or glucose during prolonged submaximal cycling exercise. Eight highly trained volunteers exercised on two occasions on a cycle ergometer at 65% of maximal workload for 120 min, followed by a 60-min rest period and a second exercise bout of 30 min at 60% maximal workload. At random, subjects ingested a 8% galactose solution to which an [1-13C]galactose tracer was added or a 8% glucose solution to which an [U-13C]glucose tracer was added. Drinks were provided at the end of the warm-up period (8 ml/kg) and every 15 min (2 ml/kg) during the first 120 min of the test. Blood and breath samples were collected every 30 and 15 min, respectively, during the test. The exogenous carbohydrate (CHO) oxidation was calculated from the 13CO2/12CO2 ratio and CO2 production of the expired air. Peak exogenous CHO oxidation during exercise for galactose and glucose was 0.41 +/- 0.03 and 0.85 +/- 0.04 g/min, respectively. Total CHO and fat oxidation were not significantly different between the treatments. Forty-six percent of the ingested glucose was oxidized, whereas only 21% of the ingested galactose was oxidized. As a consequence, more endogenous CHO was utilized with galactose than with glucose (124.4 +/- 6.7 and 100.1 +/- 3.6 g, respectively). These results indicate that the oxidation rate of orally ingested galactose is maximally approximately 50% of the oxidation rate of a comparable amount of orally ingested glucose during 120 min of exercise.
