Metabolism of Endogenous Lipid of the Intestine

¹ From the Sections of Biochemistry and of Surgical Research, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota

Total fatty-acid output in the intestinal lymph in rats and in the thoracic-duct lymph in dogs was studied during fasting and during a fat-free diet period. Daily total fatty-acid output in the intestinal lymph was found to be fairly constant during fasting or when the rat was fed a fat-free diet. There is an inverse relationship between total fatty-acid concentration and the volume of intestinal lymph. In the absence of pancreatic juice or of both bile and pancreatic juice, the total fatty-acid output in the thoracic-duct lymph in dogs was decreased to one-third or one-fourth that of the normal dog. The endogenous lipid metabolism of the intestine is discussed in relation to steatorrhea.