Nineteen bulimic women and 22 age-matched controls were randomly assigned to receive 25 g of glucose or a placebo injection under double-blind conditions. Blood samples of glucose, insulin, and glucagon, and psychometric assessments of mood and food cravings were obtained 10 min before, and 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min after injection. Blood levels of the large neutral amino acids (LNAAs) tryptophan, tyrosine, leucine, valine, phenylalanine, and leucine were determined at 10 min before and 60 min after the injection. Bulimic subjects were found to report more symptoms of distressed mood throughout the entire monitoring period than controls. Five minutes following glucose ingestion the self-reports of depression, fatigue, anxiety, and bewilderment rose to a level among the bulimic subjects that was above that at baseline, and was higher than that of bulimia nervosa (BN) subjects receiving placebo. No comparable change in mood was observed among controls. Blood glucose levels were correlated with mood in the bulimic group, but not in controls. In addition, the glucose injection induced a heightened urge to binge in the bulimic group (compared to placebo at 10 and 60 min), whereas reducing food cravings (for sweets) in the controls (at 5 min). When collapsed across time and injection condition, the blood glucose level of bulimics was lower than that of controls. There were no differences in insulin response between the groups. The bulimic group was found to have lower baseline levels of blood tryptophan, whereas no differences in the tryptophan/LNAA ratio were observed either at baseline or following glucose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)