Abstract
Summary
An enzymatically unhydrolyzable ester of cholesterol, cholesterol-4-C14 α,α-methyl ethyl caproate, has been synthesized. This ester was infused in micellar dispersion into the duodenum of lymph fistula rats. After 12 hours, 98.1% of the administered ester was recovered unaltered from the feces and intestinal contents. There was none of this ester in intestinal tissue or lymph. The data provide convincing evidence that the initial transfer of cholesterol into mucosal cells is specific for free cholesterol, and that cholesterol esters are not absorbed from the intestinal lumen prior to hydrolysis.
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