Studies on the Intestinal Absorption and Intramucosal Lipolysis of a Medium Chain Triglyceride*

Abstract

The intestinal mucosa contains a lipase in the microsomal fraction of the epithelial cell which readily splits medium chain triglycerides such as trioctanoin. These studies were carried out with C14 trioctanoin using rat intestinal preparations. The lipase hydrolyzing trioctanoin was found to be distinct from pancreatic lipase by a number of properties such as substrate specificity, pH optimum, heat stability, etc. In vivo experiments indicated that Cl4 trioctanoin can enter the mucosal cells without prior hydrolysis in the lumen.