We characterized carbohydrate metabolism following activity in the American bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, and compared whole body metabolic profiles between two seasons. Forty-eight adult male Rana catesbeiana were chronically cannulated and injected with [U-(14)C]L-lactic acid sodium salt in either summer (June) or winter (January) after acclimation for 2 weeks at 15 degrees C with a 12 h:12 h L:D photoperiod. Following injection with [(14)C]lactate, frogs were either allowed to rest for 240 min (REST), hopped for 2 min on a treadmill and immediately sacrificed (PE), or hopped for 2 min on a treadmill and allowed to recover for 240 min (REC 4). Exercise caused a significant increase in blood lactate level from 2.7+/-0.1 mmol l(-1) at rest to 17.0+/-2.1 mmol l(-1) immediately following exercise. This increase persisted throughout the recovery period, with average blood lactate level only reduced to 13.7+/-1.1 mmol l(-1) after 240 min of recovery, despite complete recovery of intramuscular lactate levels. Lactate levels were not significantly different between seasons in any treatment (REST, PE, REC4), in either gastrocnemius muscle or blood. The vast majority of [(14)C]lactate was recovered in the muscle, in both winter (86.3%) and summer (87.5%). Season had no effect on total amount of (14)C label recovered. [(14)C]Lactate was measured in the forms of lactate, glucose and glycogen, in the liver and the muscle sampled. The most robust difference found in seasonal metabolism was that both the liver and the gastrocnemius contained significantly higher levels of intracellular free glucose under all treatments in winter. These data suggest that, overall, bullfrogs accumulate and slowly clear lactate in a manner quite similar to findings in fish, other amphibians and lizards. Additionally, our findings indicate that lactate metabolism is not highly influenced by season alone, but that intracellular glucose levels may be sensitive to annual patterns.