Hepatic fructose metabolism studied by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance in the anaesthetized rat.

We have previously shown (Iles et al., 1980) that the metabolism of fructose may be followed in isolated rat livers by using 3*P n.m.r. spectroscopy. The introduction of the surfacecoil technique (Ackerman et al., 1980) makes it possible to study metabolism in the anaesthetized animal. A fed male Wistar rat was anaesthetized by intraperitoneal sodium pentobarbital, catheterized in the right jugular vein and secured vertically within a 7cm n.m.r. probe. A flat, three-turn IOmm-diameter radiofrequency coil was placed on the surface of the left lobe of the liver through an abdominal incision. To prevent evaporation, and to electrically insulate the coil, the liver surface was covered with thin plastic film. The probe was inserted into a wide-bore Oxford Instruments superconducting (4.3 T) magnet. Radiofrequency pulses were repeated every