The effect of oral hypoglycemic sulfonylureas, tolbutamide and glyburide, on metabolic flux through the pyruvate carboxylase reaction was evaluated in liver mitochondria isolated from 24-hr fasted rats. Both these sulfonylureas inhibited the metabolic flux through the pyruvate carboxylase reaction in a concentration dependent manner. Half-maximal inhibition was achieved at tolbutamide and glyburide concentrations of 0.85 mM and 63.3 microM, respectively. Neither sulfonylurea altered the activity of pyruvate carboxylase or the Km of the enzyme for ATP and pyruvate. However, glyburide and tolbutamide decreased mitochondrial ATP content and elevated mitochondrial ADP and AMP levels. The decrease in mitochondrial ATP was greater with 400 microM glyburide compared with 2.0 mM tolbutamide. Glyburide also decreased mitochondrial acetyl-coenzyme A/CoASH ratio. Additionally, glyburide and tolbutamide stimulated pyruvate (5 mM) supported mitochondrial respiration in the absence of ADP. These data indicate that these sulfonylureas inhibit the metabolic flux through the pyruvate carboxylase reaction by decreasing mitochondrial ATP/ADP and acetyl-coenzyme A/CoASH ratios. Decreased mitochondrial nucleotide content and increased mitochondrial respiration caused by sulfonylureas suggest that these compounds may uncouple oxidative phosphorylation.