Showing papers in "Lipids in 1978"

Effects of synthetic and natural lysophosphatidic acids on the arterial blood pressure of different animal species

Abstract: Intravenous injection of lysophosphatidic acid was found to cause hypertension in rats and guinea pigs, but hypotension in cats and rabbits. The potencies of the pressor and depressor effects of synthetic lysophosphatidic acids in rats and cats depended on their chain length and the degree of unsaturation of their fatty acyl moieties.

Effects of ethanol ingestion and dietary fat levels on mitochondrial lipids in male and female rats.

Abstract: The effects of sex, dietary fat levels, and ethanol ingestion on rat liver mitochondrial lipids have been studied. Two groups of male animals were fed either a low-fat diet for about 76 days or a high-fat diet for about 52 days, and two groups of female animals were fed the same low-fat diet for about 50 days or the high-fat diet for about 37 days. Ethanol was substituted isocalorically for carbohydrate and amounted to 36% of total calories. The total as well as individual concentrations of fatty acids, phospholipids, and neutral lipids were determined in all eight groups of animals. Variable changes were observed in the total fatty acid composition of mitochondria from each of the four groups of animals. After ethanol ingestion, there was a decrease in arachidonate/linoleate ratio in males, while no change was observed in females. Increasing the fat content of the diet decreased this ratio in both controls and experimentals, but it did not alter the effects of ethanol on either sex. Presumably, this was due to the fact that corn oil was the only source of lipid. After ethanol ingestion, the total fatty acid concentration increased in all groups of animals except the males fed the low-fat diet. A decrease was observed in this group. The same pattern of change was reflected in changes in total phospholipid concentrations. In each case, the majority of the concentration change in total phospholipid could be accounted for by changes in phosphatidylcholine (PC). Measurement of choline oxidase (C.O.) showed that ethanol ingestion increased C.O. activity only in the low-fat group of males. No change was observed in the other three groups. Chronic ethanol ingestion is known to increase the methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE); therefore, in order to decrease PC, the increase in C.O. in the low-fat males must have been of sufficient magnitude to offset the increase in PE methylation. Increasing the fat content of the diet offset the effect of ethanol on C.O. in males. Neither ethanol nor fat exerted much effect on C.O. in females. These results emphasize the importance of dietary levels of fat as well as sex in the study of liver mitochondria structure and function in relation to ethanol metabolism.

Quantitation of high density lipoproteins

Abstract: The demand for high density lipoprotein (HDL) quantitation has dramatically increased with the renewed awareness of the importance of HDL as a negative risk factor for coronary heart disease. HDL is usually estimated by specific precipitation of the non-HDL apoB-containing lipoproteins by polyanions and divalent cations followed by measurement of cholesterol in the supernatant. A common procedure involves precipitation with sodium heparin at 1.3 mg/ml and MnCl2 at 0.046 M (final concentrations). This method is appropriate for serum but less than ideal for plasma because of incomplete precipitation and sedimentation of the apoB-containing lipoproteins. A two-fold increase in Mn2+ to 0.096 M improves precipitation of the apoB-associated lipoproteins from plasma without excessive precipitation of HDL. This modified heparin-Mn2+ procedure gives results nearly identical to the results with the ultracentrifugal reference method (cholesterol in the d>1.063 fraction corrected for losses and the presence of apoB-associated cholesterol). The dextran sulfate 500-Mg2+ and the sodium phosphotungstate-Mg2+ procedures give results consistently 2–4 mg/dl lower than does the reference method. In contrast, a heparin-Ca2+ method gives results 5–8 mg/dl higher than does the reference method. Immunochemical analysis of apoA-I in the precipitate and apoB in the supernatant indicates that lower values for the phosphotungstate-Mg2+ procedure is due to partial precipitation of the A-I-containing lipoproteins, while higher values by the heparin-Ca2+ method are due to incomplete precipitation of the apoB-containing lipoproteins. Quantitation of the principal apoproteins of HDL, A-I and A-II, represent an important additional index of HDL concentrations and composition. Quantitation of plasma A-I and A-II concentrations by radial immunodiffusion indicates that women generally have higher HDL concentrations than men (women, A-I, 135±25, A-II, 36±6; men, A-I, 120±20, A-II, 33±5; mean±S.D., in mg/dl). A-I and A-II do not increase with age in men but show a slight increase with age in women. Estrogen increases HDL cholesterol and protein and may in part account for the higher HDL in women. The lighter density HDL subclass has a higher A-I/A-II ratio than the denser HDL subclass, with women generally having significantly more of the lighter HDL subclass. Density-gradient ultracentrifugation in CsCl2 gradients indicates that HDL contains subpopulations of differing hydrated density which vary in the A-I/A=II ratio. Immunoassay of A-I and A-II when used in combination with HDL cholesterol analysis is a powerful tool for studies of HDL structure, epidemiology and metabolism.

Characterization of a prostaglandin-like metabolite of linolenic acid produced by a flaxseed extract

Abstract: One of the products formed upon incubation of linolenic acid (cis9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid) with an extract of flaxseed acetone powder has been characterized as 8-[2-(cis-pent-2′-enyl)-3-oxo-cis-cyclopent-4-enyl]octanoic acid. The cyclopentenone ring structure of this acid is analogous to that of the A-type prostaglandins produced in mammalian systems.

Linolenic acid deficiency: changes in fatty acid patterns in female and male rats raised on a linolenic acid-deficient diet for two generations.

Abstract: Rats were fed for two generations a purified, linolenic acid-deficient diet in which the only source of lipid was purified methyl linoleate. This diet contained about 38 mg linolenic acid/kg diet. Control rats were given the same diet supplemented with methyl linolenate (2,500 mg/kg diet). Male and female rats ranged in age from weaning pups to adults. Lipids were extracted from liver, brain, kidney, spleen, heart, muscle, gastrointestinal tract, lung, ovary, testis, adrenal, plasma, erythrocytes, retina, and adipose tissue. Fatty acids of major phospholipid classes (choline phosphoglycerides, ethanolamine phosphoglycerides, and mixed serine phosphoglycerides plus inositol phosphoglycerides) or of total lipid extracts were measured by gas liquid chromatography. Growth rates and organ weights were similar in control and linolenic acid-deficient rats. The major effect of the deficiency was to lower the proportions of n-3 fatty acids, especially 22:6 n-3, in all the organs analyzed. Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3) was mainly replaced by 22:5 n-6 in deficient rats. The greatest changes in composition were found in brain, heart, muscle, retina, and liver.

Insect steroid metabolism.

Abstract: Insects are unable to biosynthesize the steroid nucleus and generally require an exogenous source of sterols. Two salient areas of insect steroid metabolism are the dealkylation and conversion of dietary C28 and C29 plant sterols to cholesterol and other C27 sterols, and the biosynthesis and metabolism of the steroidal insect molting hormones. Certain azasteroids and nonsteroidal amines block this conversion of 24-alkyl sterols to cholesterol and/or disrupt molting and development in insects. These inhibitors have served in charting metabolic pathways for steroids in insects and are serving as models in developing selective pesticidal chemicals and chemotherapeutic agents for use against insects and other invertebrate pests and parasites. The mode of action of some of these inhibitors on molting and development has been investigated in vivo and in vitro. Certain of these inhibitors represent a new class of insect hormonal compounds with a novel mode of action—the disruption of molting hormone metabolism. Research on sterol metabolism in insects provides important information on the comparative biochemistry and physiological functions of steroids in living systems.

Effects of dietary vitamin E, selenium, and polyunsaturated fats on in vivo lipid peroxidation in the rat as measured by pentane production

Abstract: Starting at 21 days of age, groups of six rats each were fed a basal Torula yeast diet supplemented with 0,4% L-methionine and varying amounts of vitamin E as dl-alpha tocopherol acetate, selenium as sodium selenite, and with either 10% stripped corn oil, stripped lard, or coconut oil By 7 wk, pentane production by rats fed a corn oil diet deficient in both vitamin E and selenium was twice that by rats fed 01 or 1 mg of selenium per kg of the same basal diet Blood glutathione peroxidase activity after 7 wk was proportional to the logarithm of dietary selenium Groups of rats fed the vitamin E- and selenium-deficient diets with lard or coconut oil had one-half the pentane production of rats fed the vitamin E- and selenium-deficient corn oil diets The plasma level of linoleic plus arachidonic acid was 18 times greater on a wt % basis in rats fed corn oil than in rats fed lard or coconut oil as the fat source Pentane production by rats fed 40 iu dl-alpha tocopherol acetate per kg of the selenium-deficient corn oil diet was one-sixth of that by rats fed the same diet without vitamin E; the plasma of the rats fed the vitamin E-supplemented corn oil diet had a level of vitamin E that was about six times greater than that of the rats fed the vitamin E-deficient corn oil diet

The evidence for the antiatherogenicity of high density lipoprotein in man.

Abstract: It has long been recognized that patients with clinical coronary heart disease (CHD) have, on average, higher concentrations of plasma very low density and low density lipoproteins than do healthy subjects. The same studies clearly demonstrated that coronary victims tend also to have low plasma concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL). It is only recently, however, that the possible significance of this second observation has been examined. Direct evidence for an inverse relationship between HDL cholesterol concentration and the prevalence of clinical CHD, independent of other plasma lipoproteins, has been provided by the Honolulu Heart and Cooperative Lipoprotein Phenotyping Studies. The Tromso Heart and Framingham Studies subsequently demonstrated that this relationship precedes the clinical manifestation of coronary disease. More recently, angiographic studies have confirmed that the severity of existing coronary atherosclerosis is inversely related to HDL cholesterol concentration. Other investigations have shown that coronary victims also have low mean concentrations of apolipoproteins AI and AII (the major protein components of HDL), although the reduction of apoAI concentration may be less marked that that of HDL cholesterol, and preliminary findings from Tromso have suggested that apolipoprotein AI may be less powerful that HDL cholesterol as a predictor of CHD. Such observations have supported the porposal that HDL may exert a protective effect against coronary atherosclerosis. Final comfirmation (or otherwise) of this hypothesis, however, must await the results of carefully controlled animal experiments and of regression studies in patients with angiogrphically defined atherosclerosis.

Cyclopamine and related steroidal alkaloid teratogens: Their occurrence, structural relationship, and biologic effects

Abstract: A spontaneous congenital deformity is produced in lambs whose dams consumeVeratrum californicum on the 14th day of gestation. The deformity is generally expressed as cyclopia, cebocephaly, anophthalmia, or microphthalmia. This teratogenic effect is produced by certain steroidal alkaloid teratogens from the plant—most notably the compound cyclopamine. Cyclopamine is a C-nor-D-homo steroid with fused furanopiperidine rings E and F at right angles to the plane of the steroid because of spiro attachment at C-17 of the steroid. Among veratrum alkaloids, only those with an intact furan ring E were teratogenic in sheep, whereas those in which the piperidine ring is not rigidly positioned at right angles to the steroid were not. Many ruminants and laboratory animals are susceptible to the teratogen. It has wide species and tissue specificity and appears to have a direct effect on the embryo, not as a consequence of metabolic alteration of its structure nor as an indirect effect through a maternal influence. Other plant sources, notably potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant contain related spirosolane steroidal alkaloids. Among naturally occurring spirosolanes, solasodine is teratogenic in hamsters, but neither tomatidine not diosgenin, the non-nitrogen containing analog of solasodine, is teratogenic. Results of these and other studies suggest that a basic nitrogen positioned α with respect to the steroidal plane and at appropriate distance beyond the D ring confers the teratogenicity on the molecule. Potato sprouts with high alkaloid content are teratogenic in hamsters, but tubers and peels are not.

Generation of phospholipid artefacts during extraction of developing soybean seeds with methanolic solvents

Abstract: The major phospholipids of soybean cotyledons during development were phosphatidylcholine (45–55%), phosphatidylethanolamine (24–28%), and phosphatidylinositol (15–18%) when the tissue was steam-killed prior to extraction of the lipids. The only other phospholipids of any significance (4–6%) was identified as phosphatidylglycerol. Phosphatidic acid was a minor constituent ( 0.1% of the total lipid phosphorus) quantities. When fresh cotyledons were rapidly homogenized in mixtures of chloroform and methanol or in methanol alone, phosphatidylmethanol was formed in variable amounts (0–20% of the total phospholipid), and when cotyledons were soaked in methanol prior to homogenizing, phosphatidylmethanol became the major phospholipid, accounting for up to 75% of the total lipid phosphorus. Phosphatidylmethanol was formed by the phospholipase D-catalyzed transphosphatidylation of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine during extraction.

Formation oftrans-12,13-epoxy-9-hydroperoxy-trans-10-octadecenoic acid from 13-L-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-11-octadecadienoic acid catalyzed by either a soybean extract or cysteine-FeC13

Abstract: A soybean extract or an ethanolic solution of cysteine and ferric chloride catalyzed the conversion of 13-L-hydroperoxy-cis-9,trans-11-octadecadienoic acid to numerous products among which wastrans-12,13-epoxy-9-hydroperoxy-trans-10-octadecenoic acid. When this fatty acid was treated further with the cysteine-ferric chloride solution, 9-hydroxy-12,13-epoxy-10-octadecenoic and 9-oxo-12,13-epoxy-10-octadecenoic acids were formed. Thus,trans-12,13-epoxy-9-hydroperoxy-trans-10-octadecenoic acid probably is an intermediate in the formation of the latter two compounds. Additionally, theerythro andthreo isomers oftrans-12,13-epoxy-11-hydroperoxy-cis-9-octadecenoic acid tenatatively were identified as products.

Studies on biosynthesis of waxes by developing jojoba seed tissue

Abstract: Slices of developing jojoba cotyledons incorporated a variety of precursors in to wax, free alcohols, and polar lipids.14C-Decanoic and14C-lauric acids were elongated and desaturated, whereas14C-myristic and14C-longer chain fatty acids, although incorporated into wax, were insignificantly modified. Exogenously added14C-acetate contributed mainly to chain elongation of endogenous oleic acid, whereas14C from added glucose was uniformly distributed throughout the acyl chain of the fatty acids. These data suggest the existence of metabolically separate pools of acetate and/or sites for de novo synthesis and elongation of acyl chains.

Lipid peroxidation: A mechanism involved in acute ethanol toxicity as demonstrated by in vivo pentane production in the rat

Abstract: The effect of a single dose of ethanol on lipid peroxidation in three groups of rats fed different amounts of vitamin E was determined by the measurement of pentane in the breath. All rats had increased pentane production above basal levels by 15 min following oral administration of 6 g ethanol/kg body wt. The increase in total pentane production during a 13-hr test period after intragastric administration of ethanol was greater in the rats fed the vitamin E-deficient diet than in the rats, fed vitamin E-supplemented diets (α=2P=0.02). The results support the hypothesis that acute ethanol toxicity involves lipid peroxidation and further demonstrate the usefulness in toxicological studies of monitoring pentane as an index of lipid peroxidation in vivo.

Determination of peroxide value by the colorimetric iodine method with protection of iodide as cadmium complex

Abstract: Improved procedures of the Swoboda and Lea method for the determination of peroxide values (POV) of fats and lipids are presented. After oxidation of iodide to iodine with the sample for 5 min under an inert atmosphere, an excess of the iodide ion is immediately converted to cadmium complex for protection from atmospheric oxygen. The iodine is measured colorimetrically at 358 or 410 nm, and POV is calculated from the absorbance. This method permits the rapid determination of POV with a small amount of sample at a moderate cost using usual glasswares. For the analysis of lipids in biological materials or food products, the chloroform solution obtained by the Bligh and Dyer method is directly subjected to this procedure without evaporation of the solvent. Conversions between POV obtained by the different methods are discussed.

Occurrence of dolichol in human tissues.

Abstract: The concentration of dolichol has been determined in various human tissues obtained at autopsy. The highest levels (∼3000 μg/g wet weight) were found in testes. Liver and several other endocrine tissues contained about 1000 μg/g. Lower levels were present in other tissues examined. Only a small proportion of the total dolichol in human tissues was esterified to fatty acids.

Inhibition of cholesterol synthesis by oxygenated sterols.

Abstract: Sterols derived from cholesterol by introducing a ketone or hydroxyl function in the 6, 7, 15, 20, 22, 24, or 25 positions are known to be potent inhibitors of sterol synthesis in cell cultures. To gain more information regarding structural requirements for inhibitory activity, inhibitory potencies were determined for a series of 18 C27-steroids with various combinations of ketone and hydroxyl functions substituted in positions 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, or with a single ketone or hydroxyl function in one of these positions. The effects of nuclear double bonds upon inhibitory activity were also examined. A ketone or hydroxyl function in position 3 and a second ketone or hydroxyl function in position 6 or 7 was required for inhibitory activity with two kinds of cell culture. A 3beta5alpha6beta-triol was not more inhibitory than a comparable 3beta,6beta-diol. Cholestane-3beta 5alpha-diol inhibited sterol synthesis in L cells but not in liver cell cultures. The inhibitory activities of 7-oxygenated sterols were not markedly affected by the presence of a double bond in position 4 or 5. Current knowledge of the mechanism through which the oxygenated sterols suppress cholesterol synthesis is reviewed.

Sterol-polyene antibiotic complexation: Probe of membrane structure

Abstract: Polyene antibiotics are useful tools for studying the role of sterols in biological membranes. The interaction of polyene antibiotics with membrane-bound sterols in artificial membrane systems, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and lipid-containing viruses is reviewed. The pentaene macrolide, filipin, is shown to serve as a probe of phosphatidylcholine-sterol interaction and of the localization of cholesterol in the membrane of mycoplasmas.

The occurrence of a furanoid fatty acid inHevea brasiliensis latex

Abstract: Methyl esters from the triglyceride fraction of the neutral lipids of natural rubber latex were found by gas liquid chromatography to contain about 90% of a furanoid acid. Spectroscopic analysis identified the acid as 10,13-epoxy-11-methyloctadeca-10,12-dienoic acid.

Identification of vasopressor phospholipid in crude soybean lecithin.

Abstract: The vasopressor phospholipid in crude soybean lecithin was isolated by column chromatography on Sephadex LH-20. It represented 0.1% of crude soybean lecithin. The isolated phospholipid was identified to be lysophosphatidic acid by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of TMS-deacylated product and acetolysis product. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis favored the 1-monoacyl isomer over the 2-isomer. By enzymic determination with L-3-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, the isolated phospholipid was identified as 1-monoacyl-L-3-glycerophosphate. Gas chromatographic examination revealed that it was composed of a large percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. The activity of isolated lysophosphatidic acid was slightly less than that of synthetic 1-linoleoyl-L-3-glycerophosphate.

Models for lipid organization in cholesterol-phospholipid bilayers including cholesterol dimer formation.

Abstract: Three new structural models, which account for abrupt changes in physical properties observed at several molar concentrations of cholesterol in phospholipid bilayers, are described. Cholesterol monomers, each surrounded by its own envelope of unshared acyl hydrocarbon chains of the phospholipid, can accommodate 22% cholesterol. Cholesterol dimers, each surrounded by its envelope of unshared acyl hydrocarbon chains, can accommodate 31% cholesterol. When surrounded by shared acyl hydrocarbon chains, cholesterol dimmers can accommodate about 47% cholesterol. At greater concentrations, cholesterol aggregation occurs, the system is unstable, and cholesterol forms a separate phase.

The effects of clofibrate feeding on the metabolism of palmitate and erucate in isolated hepatocytes.

Abstract: The metabolism of palmitate and erucate has been investigated in hepatocytes isolated from control rats and from rats fed 0.3% clofibrate. Clofibrate increased the oxidation of [1-14C]palmitate 1.5 to 2-fold while the esterification was decreased. At a high concentration of palmitate (1.5 mM), the total rate of fatty acid metabolism was stimulated. Clofibrate stimulated both the oxidation (3.5 to 5-fold) and the esterification (1.7-fold) of [14-14C]erucate. Erucate undergoes chain-shortening in isolated liver cells. This chain-shortening was stimulated at least 2-fold by clofibrate feedings. The isolated mitochondrial fraction from clofibrate-fed rats showed an increased capacity for oxidation of short-chain acylcarnitines (including acetylcarnitine), while the oxidation of palmitoyl- and erucoylcarnitine showed little change. It is suggested that erucate is shortened by the recently detected β-oxidation system of peroxisomes.

Cyclopropene fatty acids of selected seed oils from bombacaceae, malvaceae, and sterculiaceae.

Abstract: Fatty acid compositions of seed oils from three species of Bombacaceae, eleven from Malvaceae, and six from Sterculiaceae were determined. Each of the seed oils contains varying amounts of both malvalic and sterculic acids accompanied by one or both of the corresponding cyclopropane fatty acids. In addition, the seed oil of Pachira aquatic Aubl. (Bombacaceae) contains 12.8% alpha-hydroxysterculic acid.

High-pressure liquid chromatography of autoxidized lipids: I. Methyl oleate and linoleate

Abstract: Autoxidized methyl oleate and linoleate were reduced with NaBH4 and fractionated with a preparative high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) reverse phase column. Products characterized from reduced-oxidized oleate included monohydroxy- and dihydroxyotadecenoates, dihydroxy- and epoxyoctadecanoates. Products characterized from reduced-oxidized linoleate included hydroxy-cis,trans- andtrans,trans-octadecadienoates, monohydroxy-, dihydroxy-, trihydroxy-, epoxyhydroxy-, and epoxyoctadecenoates. Quantitation of oxidation products by HPLC was in agreement with gas chromatography of trimethylsilyl ether derivative. Epoxyoctadecanoate in oleate and epoxy- and epoxyhydroxyoctadecenoates in linoleate were the most abundant secondary oxidation products. Some mechanisms are discussed to explain formation of these secondary products.

Identification of the free and conjugated sterol in a non-photosynthetic diatom,Nitzschia alba, as 24-methylene cholesterol.

Abstract: Previous studies on the sterol fraction of the nonphotosynthetic marine diatom,Nitszchia alba, indicated the major sterol to be either brassicasterol (24R-methylcholesta-5,22-dien-3β-ol) or 22-dehydrocampesterol (24S-methylcholesta-5,22-dien-3β-ol) on the basis only of gas chromatographymass spectral analysis. The present studies using nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry on the free and bound sterol fractions isolated by preparative thin layer chromatography showed the presence in both fractions of a single sterol, with spectral and chromatographic properties identical with those reported for 24-methylenecholesterol (ergosta-5,24(28)-dien-3β-ol). This sterol may be the precursor of 24-methyl sterols found in diatoms. The bound sterol fraction was found to consist of a single compound identified as 24-methylenecholesterol sulfate. No sterol esters or sterol glycosides were detected.

Plasma, apolipoprotein, A-I and A-II levels in hyperlipidemia.

Abstract: Some of the component moieties of high denisty lipoproteins (HDL) were analyzed in normal subjects and in patients with hyperlipidemia. Apoproteins A-I and A-II were quantified by radioimmunoassay, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were assessed on heparin-MnCl2 supernates of fasting plasmas. We found that HDL is enriched in triglycerides in all forms of hyperlipidemia, while the proportion of ApoA-II is unaltered and the proportion of ApoA-I is decreased. Thus, the composition of HDL is altered in hypertriglyceridemia. The molecular associations of ApoA-I and ApoA-II in plasma were also examined by assaying the apoprotein contents of plasma fractions prepared by ultracentrifugation and by gel filtration column chromatography. The ApoA-I contents of d 1.21 fraction remained at 1.21 ApoA-I rose to 23% in one plasma with a triglyceride level of >1700 mg/dl. On column chromatography, ApoA-I eluted with the lipoproteins and also in a fraction whose molecular weight (MW) appreared to be ∼50,000 daltons. The proportion of plasma ApoA-I which eluted in the 50,000 MW peak was positively correlated with plasma triglyceride levels, but at triglyceride levels of 95% of ApoA-II was found in the HDL fractions in both normal and hyperlipidemic plasma both by column chromatography and ultracentrifugation. Thus, the molecular association of ApoA-I appears to be altered in hyperlipidemia.

Distribution of bile acids in rats

Abstract: Distribution and biliary and fecal excretion of bile acids were examined in Wistar strain male rats of about 300 g body weight. The pool size of the rats on ordinary diet was 40 mg/rat, biliary secretion was 14 mg/hr, and fecal excretion was 10 mg/day. Bile acids were mainly located in the small and large intestinal contents, 87% and 10%, respectively; but a portion was found in the intestinal wall and the liver. Rats fed 2% cholesterol-supplemented diet for a week showed similar values for pool size and biliary secretion with the rats on ordinary diet, but higher values for fecal excretion and distribution ratio in the large intestinal contents. Cholic acid was a major component in the bile, small intestinal wall, small intestinal content and liver, while the bile acid composition ratios were roughly similar to each other, although a relatively large amount of α-muricholic acid was found in the intentinal wall and liver. Both the wall and content compositions of the large intestine were similar to that of the feces, in which lithocholic, deoxycholic, α- and β-muricholic acids were the main components, although the ratios of α- and β-muricholic acids in the large intestinal wall were larger than those in the intestinal contents or feces. The high concentrations of these bile acids may indicate a difference of transport velocity across the cell membrane, but the mechanism is not known.

Absorption of synthetic, stereochemically defined acylglycerols in the rat.

Abstract: The stereochemistry of fat digestion and absorption was investigated in rats with thoracic duct fistulas, after feeding synthetic triacylglycerol or alkyldiacylglycerol After feeding 1,2-dilauroyl-3-oleoyl-sn-glycerol, dilauroyloleoylglycerol and lauroyldioleoylglycerol were the most abundant chyle triacylglycerols Positional analysis of the fatty acid distribution and the absence of optical activity indicated that the following structures dominated: rac-1,2-dilauroyl-3-oleoylglycerol and rac-1,3-dioleoyl-2-lauroylglycerol Therefore, the triacylglycerol resynthesized from 2-lauroylglycerol (pre-cursor to 60% of chyle triacylglycerol) and other precursors was essentially racemic Chyle phospholipids contained largely endogenous fatty acids, and the proportion of lauric acid was very low A racemic mixture of 1,2-di[3H] oleoyl-3-tetradecyl-sn-glycerol and 1-tetradecyl-2,3-di[12C] oleoyl-sn-glycerol was absorbed to a lower degree than triacylglycerol The appearace of oleic acid with different labels in chyle and intestinal lipids did not differ, indicating the absence of stereospecificity in fat digestion Possible explanations for the low absorption are discussed

Biosynthesis of hydrocarbons in insects: Decarboxylation of long chain acids ton-alkanes inPeriplaneta

Abstract: The biosynthetic pathway ofn-alkanes was investigated in the cockroachesPeriplaneta americana andPeriplaneta fuliginosa. Both sodium [1-14C] acetate and randomly tritiated long chain fatty acids were incorporated into the cuticular hydrocarbons of both species. The relative incorporation of acetate into each component of the hydrocarbon fraction was about the same as the relative amount of each component in the fraction. In contrast, [R-3H] hexacosanoic acid was preferentially incorporated inton-pentacosane inP. americana and [R-3H] tetracosanoic acid inton-tricosane inP. fuliginosa. Long chain ketones and secondary alcohols, likely intermediates in the proposed condensation-reduction pathway forn-alkane biosynthesis, were not incorporated into hydrocarbon. Results from experiments with dual labeled lauric aicd were also not consistent with the condensation-reduction pathway. The demonstration of the direct decarboxylation of long chain fatty acids ton-alkanes one carbon unit shorter and the lack of incorporation of proposed intermediates of a condensation-reduction pathway constitute the strongest evidence to date that insects utilize an elongation-decarboxylation pathway forn-alkane biosynthesis.

Isolation and characterization of the monounsaturated long chain fatty acids ofMycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract: The positions of double bond in the monounsaturated C15−C32 fatty acids ofMycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra were established by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of the ozonized esters and their pyrrolidide derivatives. The monounsaturated C15−C21 fatty acids had the double bond primarily at the Δ9 position while the monounsaturated longer chain fatty acids (C22−C32) had the double bond in several positions. Many of the latter acids, especially the odd-numbered series, were very complex isomeric mixtures. Quantitation showed the most abundant even-numbered long chain fatty acid isomers to be as follow: C22, Δ4; C24, Δ5; C26, Δ7 and Δ9; C28, Δ9; C30, Δ11 and Δ13; C32, Δ13 and Δ15.

Effects of dietary antioxidants on in vivo lipid peroxidation in the rat as measured by pentane production

Abstract: The hypothesis that pentane is an in vivo product of lipid peroxidation was confirmed by a study of the effects of a nonbiological antioxidant on pentane production in rats fed a diet deficient in vitamin E and supplemented with 0.01% N,N′-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPPD). Seven rats were fed a vitamin E-deficient diet starting at 3 wk of age. After 5 wk, 0.01% DPPD was added to the diets of three rats (group DPPD) while the diet of the other four rats remained unchanged (group OE). Within 2 wk of the diet change, rats in group DPPD exhaled 65% less pentane than rats of the same age in group OE. After 5 wk of being fed the DPPD-supplemented diet, rats in group DPPD were again fed the basal vitamin E-deficient diet; within 3 wk, these rats produced pentane levels similar to those of rats in group OE. The effects of vitamin E depletion and repletion on in vivo lipid peroxidation in rats were also studied. Three groups of three rats each were initially fed a vitamin E-deficient diet starting at 3 wk of age. After 8, 8, and 5 wk of being fed this diet, the three groups were fed diets supplemented with 3.3 (group 0→3.3E), 11 (group 0→11 E), and 200 (group 200E) i.u. vitamin E acetate/kg diet, respectively. Another group of three rats (group 11 E) was fed a diet supplemented with 11 i.u. vitamin E/kg starting at 3 wk of age for the duration of the study. There were significant decreases in pentane production by rat groups 0→3.3E, 0→11E, and 200E within 2 wk of the change to the vitamin E-supplemented diets. After about 5 wk of being fed their respective vitamin E-supplemented diets, pentane breath levels had stabilized. Breath pentane levels were inversely proportional to the log of dietary vitamin E concentration.