Chromatographic Separation of Reducing Sugars in the Urines of Newborn Babies

Abstract

The application of paper chromatography to the qualitative analysis of reducing sugars by Partridge (1946) has greatly simplified the detection of these substances in biological fluids. In particular it has provided an accurate and comparatively easy method of separating reducing sugars in the urine. This has proved of great value in the investigation of such a condition as congenital galactosaemia, about which disease there has been much recent interest (Bray, Isaac and Watkins, 1952;Hudson, Ireland, Ockenden and White-Jones, 1954;Cox and Pugh, 1954). It is now almost a routine procedure for the urine of a baby becoming ill with jaundice in the first few days of life and not thriving to be tested for reducing substances. Hudson and Ireland (1954) have, however, warned against reaching a hasty diagnosis of galactosaemia if galactose is found in the urine of such a baby.There is little information in the literature about the physiological excretion of reducing sugars by newborn babies. Woolf (1951) said that small amounts of galactose and lactose are found in the urines of milk-fed infants, but he gave no figures. He also said that xylose is frequently present in normal urines, but rarely exceeds 3 mg./100 ml. Rubin (1954) stated that sugars may be found in small amounts in the urines of healthy infants in the early months of life, but he gave no details. Flynn, Harper and de Mayo (1953) found lactose in the unnes of 900 of normal men and women. This paper is a report of our findings of the examination by paper chromatogaphy of the urines of 50 normal male babies. Results Eighty-one urines were collected from the 50 babies.Twenty-two babies (from whom 34 urines were collected) showed no reducing sugar in any specimen. Four babies (five urines) showed an unidentified reducing substance only. Twenty-four babies (42 urines) showed one or more reducing sugar in 25 specimens.

Stool and urinary sugars in normal neonates.

“…Bickel (1961), studying 155 specimens of urine from 88 normal neonates, found the mean 'normal' lactose to be between 20 mg/100 ml and 50 mg/100 ml between the third and seventh day of life. Haworth and McCredie (1956) found that about half of 50 normal breast-fed babies had reducing sugars in their urine at some time during the first weeks of life and a substantial minority had more than 50 mg/100 ml, yet more than 15 mg/100 ml of sugar in the urine of neonates who have had surgery has been regarded by some workers as confirming a diagnosis of sugar intolerance (Howat and Aaronson, 1971).Thus, though clinical diagnosis of sugar malabsorption in the newborn is usually based on finding an excess of reducing susbstances in a watery stool, what constitutes an excess is at present uncertain. In view of this we undertook a study of stool and Received 23 October 1975. urine sugar levels in normal breast-and bottle-fed newborn infants.…”

Sugars in the Blood and Urine of Children Following the Ingestion of Disaccharides

“…It has previously been shown that reducing sugars are frequently excreted in the urine by mature and premature newborn babies (Haworth and McCredie, 1956;Haworth and MacDonald, 1957). Other workers, using paper chromatographic methods, have also found small amounts of sugars in the urines of children and usually higher concentrations of lactose and galactose in urines from young babies (Woolf, 1951;Apthorp, 1957;Bickel, 1959).…”

Intestinal Permeability to Intact Lactose in Newborns and Adults

“…As noted earlier, other investigators have identified lactose in the urine of subjects receiving lactose and suggested a higher ex cretion of this disaccharide in early infancy compared to later in life [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The studies by Haworth and McCredie [2], Woolf and Norman [3], and Haworth [4] demonstrated qualitatively that urine contained lactose fol lowing the ingestion of the disaccharide.…”

“…The studies by Haworth and McCredie [2], Woolf and Norman [3], and Haworth [4] demonstrated qualitatively that urine contained lactose fol lowing the ingestion of the disaccharide. However, there was no controlled quantita tive assessment of lactose excretion.…”

“…In 1922, Folin and Berglund [1] found small quanti ties of lactose in the urine of adults. Later studies of lactose ingestion and excretion in different age groups suggested that increased amounts of lactose were absorbed intact and excreted in the urine of infants, compared to older children and adults [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, these studies of lactose absorption and excre tion were not conclusive since several vari ables were not controlled: the amount of lac tose ingested per kilogram body weight (b.w.…”