Coating of 3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)benzyl-P-D-galactopyranoside (TDOB-Gal) on a dish for suspension culture increased the specific ammonia consumption rate of primary rat hepatocytes to 2.4 times that in the case of rat hepatocytes cultured in a dish without coating while there was no increase in the specific urea production rate. TDOB-beta-D-glucopyranoside (TDOB-Glc), -alpha-D-mannnoside, -beta-D-mannoside, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-galactopyranoside had almost no influence on the above-mentioned specific rates. In the ammonia loading assay, cells on the dish with TDOB-Gal and -Glc coatings produced glucose, suggesting gluconeogenesis.