The Relation of B-Vitamins and Dietary Fat to the Lipotropic Action of Choline

Abstract

When thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, corn oil, and choline were fed to rats receiving a purified diet containing 18% of casein for a 3-week experimental period, an abnormal accumulation of liver-fat resulted. Under these conditions 2 mg. of choline chloride per rat daily failed to prevent the kidney hemorrhages of choline deficiency; at least 10 mg. of choline chloride was necessary for this factor to exert its maximum lipotropic action but normal liver-fat levels were still not obtained. The addition of 3 mg. of inositol per rat daily to the diet adequate in choline and containing the above B-vitamins reduced the liver fat to the normal level found in rats receiving an adequate stock diet. Prolonged feeding of a diet deficient in pyridoxine or essential fatty acids resulted in fatty livers, even though the diet contained adequate choline. It is concluded that pyridoxine and a source of essential fatty acids are necessary in the diet for choline to function properly as a lipotropic agent. Inositol, in addition to choline, is a necessary dietary constituent for the rat receiving purified diets supplemented with the other B-vitamins known to be required by this species.