Studies on ‘orotic acid fatty liver’

Abstract

Feeding orotic acid to weanling albino rats resulted in the accumulation of cholesterol and total lipid in the liver. The accumulation of cholesterol was not due to increased biosynthesis as revealed by the incorporation of [C14] acetate into liver cholesterol in vivo. The concomitant decrease of cholesterol concentration in plasma as well as in carcass and the low pyridine nucleotide content of the liver suggested that the cholesterol accumulation in liver was due to increased mobilization from extra-hepatic tissues, with further impairment in its metabolism in the liver. Low concentrations of protein nitrogen and ribonucleic acid of the liver further indicated that protein and nucleic acid metabolism also could be affected by orotic acid. Supplementation of the diet with adenine com- pletely reversed the effects of orotic acid on the cholesterol content of plasma, carcass and liver.