Effect of Various Bile Acids on the Hypercholesteremia Following Biliary Obstruction in the Rat

Abstract

99 male Long-Evans rats were subjected to bile duct ligation and then separated into 5 groups. One group received no medication and was used as control. Four groups of bile duct ligated rats received orally 100 mg./day for 3 days of one of 4 different bile salts. Plasma samples were analyzed for cholesterol and bile acid at the beginning and at the end of the 3-day period. The animals were starved for the duration of the expt. The avg. concn. of plasma cholesterol in rats receiving Na cholate was 610 mg./100 cc, twice that in animals receiving desoxycholate, dehydrocholate, or glycocholate, or in those not receiving medication. Cholic acid (or possibly taurocholic acid) is probably the particular bile acid involved in the genesis of hypercholesteremia in the bile duct obstructed rat.