Potassium gluconate

Potassium is the most abundant cation (approximately 150 to 160 mEq per liter) within human cells. Intracellular sodium content is relatively low. In the extracellular fluid, sodium predominates and the potassium content is low (3.5 to 5 mEq per liter). A membrane-bound enzyme, sodium-potassium–activated adenosinetriphosphatase (Na +K +ATPase), actively transports or pumps sodium out and potassium into cells to maintain the concentration gradients. The intracellular to extracellular potassium gradients are necessary for nerve impulse signaling in such specialized tissues as the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle, and for the maintenance of physiologic renal function and maintenance of acid-base balance. High intracellular potassium concentrations are necessary for numerous cellular metabolic processes.

Intracellular K+ serves as a reservoir to limit the fall in extracellular potassium concentrations occurring under pathologic conditions with loss of potassium from the body.