A recently introduced tracer, [3,4-13 C 2 ]glucose, was compared to the widely used tracer, [6,6-2 H 2 ]glucose, for measurement of whole-body glucose turnover. The rate of glucose production (GP) was measured in rats after primed infusions of [3,4-13 C 2 ]glucose, [6,6-2 H 2 ]glucose, or both tracers simultaneously followed by a constant infusion of tracer(s) over 90 min. Blood glucose was purified and converted into monoacetone glucose for analysis by 13 Multiple tracer methods have been introduced to measure systemic glucose turnover in vivo. These methods share the same physiologic principles, but differ in technical details such as the site of isotope labeling, the use of stable or radioactive isotopes, and detection techniques. Stable isotopes are now preferred for practical and ethical reasons despite lower sensitivity compared to radiotracers. If glucose turnover is the sole purpose of an experiment, mass spectrometry is usually chosen because of high sensitivity, simplicity of data interpretation, and wide application (1,2). However, if multiple stable isotopes or labeling patterns are used in a single study to probe additional metabolic pathways, then NMR offers the benefit that multiple sites of 13 C or 2 H labeling in a glucose molecule are easily distinguished. This property offers an overwhelming advantage compared to mass spectrometry.There is increasing interest in simultaneous measurement of both glucose turnover and other metabolic fluxes in vivo. For example, administration of 2 H 2 O followed by measurement of deuterium enrichment in positions 2, 5, and 6 of glucose by mass spectrometry allowed Saadatian et al. to calculate the relative rates of glucose production (GP) from glycerol, glycogen, and the TCA cycle (3). After co-administration of 2 H 2 O (oral) plus [6,6-2 H 2 ]glucose by continuous i.v. infusion, plasma glucose becomes enriched in multiple sites. The ratio of enrichment in position 5 compared to position 2 (or plasma water) yielded the fraction of plasma glucose derived from gluconeogenesis; whole-body turnover of glucose was measured from the 2 H enrichment at position 6. However, if detected by mass spectrometry, even [6,6-2 H 2 ]glucose is not an adequate tracer if other pathways are probed simultaneously by 2 H 2 O and by 13 C-enriched tracers (since m ϩ 2 could be due to additional neutrons from either 2 H or 13 C enrichment or both).A recently introduced tracer, [3,4-13 C 2 ]glucose, has multiple advantages compared to other 2 H-or 13 C-labeled glucoses (4). Unlike glucose enriched with a hydrogen tracer in position 2, the 13 C labeling is not influenced by cycling between glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate. This tracer also offers major advantages when detected by NMR. Glucose itself is an unfavorable molecule for NMR detection because of poor chemical shift dispersion and the presence of anomers, which effectively reduce signal and further complicate the spectra. A simple derivative, monoacetone glucose (1,2-diisopropylidene glucofuranose, also termed MAG), of...