Relation between malaria serum gamma-globulin concentration and the D-xylose absorption test.

D-xylose excretion after a 25 g. oral load was determined in 15 African subjects suffering from malaria. Nine of them were re-investigated after the malaria had been or was being treated. Malarial parasitaemia and pyrexia did not significantly influence results of the D-xylose test. However, in the untreated subjects, there was a significant inverse correlation between the weight of D-xylose excreted and the serum gamma-globulin concentrations. The observation may have a nutritional importance.