The Intestinal Absorption and Metabolism of Chimyl Alcohol in the Rat.

Abstract

Summary. Unanaesthetized rats provided with a thoracic duct fistula were fed [¹⁴C]‐labeled chimyl alcohol (α‐[1‐¹⁴C]‐hexadecylglyceryl ether) dissolved in olive oil.The labelled chimyl alcohol was absorbed to 95 per cent. The remainder was recovered in the unsaponifiable fraction of fecal lipids. About 50 per cent of the absorbed activity was recovered in the lymph lipids.In the lymph lipids about half of the radioactivity was associated with palmitic acid, indicating a splitting of the ether bond of the chimyl alcohol and subsequently oxidation of the cetyl alcohol moiety to palmitic acid in the mucosa cells. The palmitic acid was incorporated into the lymph triglycerides and phospholipids in the usual way.The other half of the activity in the lymph was present as chimyl alcohol about half of which was present as free chimyl alcohol. The remainder of the chimyl alcohol had been esterified during the absorption process and behaved chromatographically as a triglyceride that yielded chimyl alcohol after alkaline saponification.Chimyl alcohol is thus well absorbed but extensively metabolized already during the absorption process.