Popis: |
Fasted rats were used in a study of the effect of fatty acids on intestinal and serum phosphatase. Each acid was mixed with a palatable carrier, and then offered to the animals. Enzyme estimations were made with intestinal homogenates, and occasionally with serum. The first carrier, casein, was found to affect intestinal phosphatase activity, and it was replaced by a non-active carrier, wheat gluten. The results with the two carriers showed essentially the same trend. The elevation of intestinal alkaline phosphatase by dietary fatty acids varied inversely with the chain length for: butyric acid, lauric acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. The possibility is considered that decreasing solubility may be associated with the response obtained with these fatty acids. Oleic acid was a more powerful stimulant for the synthesis of intestinal alkaline phosphatase than the saturated fatty acids. Choline, fed simultaneously with oleic acid, completely obliterated the highly significant effect of the acid on both the intestinal and the serum enzyme, These findings indicate that further consideration should be given to the role of phospholipids in absorption of fatty acids. Enzyme response in the serum, studied with a more limited number of fatty acids, lagged a few hours behind the response of the intestinal enzyme. |