¹H NMR studies of urine during fasting: Excretion of ketone bodies and acetylcarnitine

High-resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy has been applied to a study of urine from five normal human subjects during a 48-h period of fasting and for 22 h thereafter. The excretion rates of all three ketone bodies (acetoacetate, 3-D-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone), acetylcarnitine, creatinine, and sarcosine during this period were measured. Parallel increases in the excretion of the ketone bodies and acetylcarnitine were observed during fasting with little change in the output of creatinine and sarcosine.