Administration of lipids into the upper intestine of rats has been shown to acutely decrease endogenous glucose production (EGP) in the preabsorptive state, postulated to act through a gut-brain-liver axis involving accumulation of long-chain fatty acyl-CoA, release of cholecystokinin, and subsequent neuronal signaling. It remains unknown, however, whether a similar gutbrain-liver axis is operative in humans. Here, we infused 20% Intralipid (a synthetic lipid emulsion) or saline intraduodenally for 90 min at 30 mL/h, 4 to 6 weeks apart, in random order, in nine healthy men. EGP was assessed under pancreatic clamp conditions with stable isotope enrichment techniques. Under these experimental conditions, intraduodenal infusion of Intralipid, compared with saline, did not affect plasma glucose concentration or EGP throughout the study period. We conclude that Intralipid infusion into the duodenum at this rate does not elicit detectable effects on glucose homeostasis or EGP in healthy men, which may reflect important interspecies differences between rodents and humans with respect to the putative gut-brain-liver axis.Endogenous glucose production (EGP), mainly by the liver, plays an important role in regulating glucose homeostasis. In patients with type 2 diabetes, impaired insulin action in insulin-sensitive tissues such as the liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue contributes to hyperglycemia. Hepatic glucose production is inappropriately elevated and is a major determinant of fasting hyperglycemia in this condition (1).Studies in rodents suggest that EGP is subject to neuronal regulation involving nutrient sensing in the hypothalamus (2,3) and in the small intestine (4).Intraduodenal administration of lipids, particularly longchain fatty acids (LCFAs), has been shown to reduce food intake in both rodents and humans (5,6) and to suppress EGP profoundly and rapidly in rats under experimental conditions. EGP was suppressed by .50% during a 50-min intraduodenal infusion of Intralipid under conditions of a pancreatic insulin clamp, and plasma glucose concentration was lowered by ;20% 15 min after intraduodenal infusion of Intralipid in nonclamped conditions (4). This effect occurred prior to significant absorption of the lipids, as evidenced by the absence of elevations in plasma free fatty acid (FFA) or triglyceride (TG) levels (4). Based on studies in rats, upper intestinal lipid sensing lowers EGP via a gut-brain-liver axis (4,7,8). Since this occurred at a time when insulin levels at the liver were lower than would be present during a meal, the physiological role of this pathway in regulating glucose homeostasis during food consumption remains unclear.The role of upper intestinal lipid sensing and the potential existence of a gut-brain-liver axis in the regulation of glucose homeostasis have not previously been investigated in humans, hence the aim of the current study. We assessed EGP during infusion of either normal saline or Intralipid into the duodenum in healthy men. Intralipid is an emulsion consisting ...