Fructose in humans: metabolic effects, clinical utilization, and associated inherent errors
Abstract
This article reviews the metabolism of fructose and sorbitol, their main clinical indications and the consequences
of inadequate use. Fructose, an important carbohydrate in the diet, is present mostly in fruits and vegetables;
it can also be synthesized from glucose in the organism, through the sorbitol. Fructose is known for its
metabolism’s inherent errors, whose clinical manifestations are potentially serious, as well as for its use as a
glucose substitute in the diabetic patients’ diet, due to its metabolism not being dependent from insulin. In the last years, especially in developed countries, the consumption of fructose has increased considerably, due
to its use as a sweetener in industrialized foods. However, adverse side-effects may occur with the excessive
ingestion of fructose, such as the increase in blood’s triglycerides and cholesterol. Therefore, to know which
are the patients’ normal blood levels is quite important for establishing the safe amount of fructose to be
prescribed, as well as for allowing the screening of metabolism diseases associated with fructose.
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