Colonic fermentation produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). In humans, the amount of energy produced from the oxidation of these compounds is unknown and could modify the metabolic utilization of energetic fuels (eg, carbohydrates and lipids). If it were so, the equations used to evaluate the oxidation of nutrients from indirect calorimetry data should include the contribution of SCFA, which is not usually the case. Indeed, this fermentation process is usually considered as a minor and neglected energetic pathway. In this study, we have addressed the reliability of this assumption. Six normal subjects received orally either 50 g glucose or 50 g glucose plus 20 g lactulose. Their respiratory gas exchanges, breath hydrogen, methane, and 13CO2 concentrations, and plasma glucose, insulin, and free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations were monitored for 8 hours. CO2 production and breath hydrogen concentration were significantly greater with lactulose. No differences in oxygen consumption, breath 13CO2 production, or plasma concentrations of blood glucose, FFA, and insulin could be found between the two experiments. This suggests that the fermentation process induced by lactulose generates extra fuels going through an oxidation pathway. Therefore, the classic equations used to calculate carbohydrate and lipid oxidation and energy expenditure (EE) from indirect calorimetry data are probably not valid when fermentation is taking place. Indeed, in this experiment we could have overestimated glucose oxidation (12.5%) if the fermentation process were not considered. In conclusion, colonic fermentation in humans of nondigestible carbohydrates produces energetic substrates that could be used and oxidized as energetic fuels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)