Insulin Promotes the Synthesis of Protein and the Deposition of Glycogen in Muscle

The absorptive period is dominated by the effects of insulin. In skeletal muscle, the largest tissue mass of the body, insulin promotes the uptake of glucose and amino acids and thus tends to moderate the increase in blood concentration of these nutrients during absorption of a meal. The uptake of glucose by muscle is associated with glycogen synthesis, just as in the liver. Muscle glycogen, in contrast to liver glycogen, cannot be made directly available to augment blood glucose concentra­tions during periods of low glucose availability. Muscle glycogen is primarily for metabolism in the muscle.