The acute effect of a short-term postoperative infusion of glucose supplemented with glutamine (0.285 g/kg body weight), on muscle protein metabolism, was studied by analyses of free amino acid concentrations and determinations of protein synthesis. A glutamine-glucose infusion was given for 5.5 h to 6 patients 2-3 days after elective surgery for colon cancer. The free glutamine concentration was 5.72 +/- 0.96 mmol/kg wet weight (ww) before and 6.14 +/- 1.10 mmol/kg ww 4 h after the glutamine infusion. The rate of protein synthesis was 1.26 +/- 0.15%/24 h before the infusion and 1.12 +/- 0.16%/24 h during its latter part. The percentage of polyribosomes was 42.2 +/- 3.4% before and 40.9 +/- 1.3% after the infusion. The results showed no difference in these biochemical parameters, indicating that a short-term infusion of glutamine given postoperatively is insufficient to affect protein metabolism in human skeletal muscle.