The Metabolism of Fatty Acids in the Rat VIII. Lauric Acid and Myristic Acid

Abstract Göransson, G. The metabolism of fatty acids in the rat. VIII. Lauric acid and myristic acid. Acta physiol. scand. 1965. 64 . 383–386. –Either I‐C 14 ‐lauric acid or l‐C 14 ‐myristic acid together with 9–10‐H 3 ‐palmitic acid were i. v. injected into fasted and refed male rats and the disappearance of label from the blood and the tissue distribution of label studied. Both lauric and myristic acid disappeared more rapidly than palmitic acid from the blood. In refed rats lauric acid was extracted even more rapidly than myristic acid. Lauric acid was oxidized at a higher rate than myristic acid and myristic acid was more rapidly oxidized than palmitic acid. More lauric acid label and myristic acid label was found in the liver“Neutral lipid plus FFA” than in the liver phospholipids. This skewed distribution was most marked for lauric acid in the fasted rats. The uneven distribution is discussed in relation to the fatty acid composition of the liver lipids, to certain feeding experiments and to the interconversion with other fatty acids.