Lack of Enterohepatic Circulation of Intact Biliary Phosphatidylcholine in the Rat

Abstract

The bile phosphatidylcholine was radioactively labelled by intraperitoneal or intravenous injection of [³H]- or [¹⁴C]-palmitic acid into bile fistula rats. The radioactive bile was infused intraduodenally into other bile fistula rats. On an average, only 1.0% of the infused radioactive phosphatidylcholine fatty acid reappeared in bile phosphatidylcholine, whereas about 68% of simultaneously infused [³H]-taurocholate was recovered over the same period of time (6 hours). There is thus no significant enterohepatic circulation of intact biliary phosphatidylcholine.

Key-words:

• Bile fistula
• enterohepatic circulation
• intraduodenal infusion
• phosphatidylcholine