LIPIDS OF LYMPH FOLLOWING FEEDING OF FAT: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

A study was made of the concn. of lipids in lymph from the thoracic duct, small intestine and liver of the dog before and after feeding. The concn. of total lipids or total fatty acids of lymph from the small intestine or thoracic duct increased enormously after the admn. of a meal rich in triglycerides or free oleic acid, owing largely to an increase in concn. of neutral fat. A 3-fold increase in concn. of phospholipid was associated with the maximal increases found in neutral fat. Little if any change was found in the cholesterol content of the lymph. The finding of a definite increase in phospholipid concn. of intestinal and thoracic duct lymph suggests that the mucosa of the small intestine is normally a source of phospholipids for the plasma during the absorption of fat. The concn. of total fatty acids in the hepatic lymph was lower than that of intestinal or thoracic duct lymph and did not increase after feeding. The concn. of phospholipids and cholesterol of hepatic lymph was also similar to that of plasma and did not change appreciably during the absorption of fat from the intestine.