Abstract
Summary
Phenobarbital causes no significant change in either serum bilirubin concentration or the rate of bilirubin turnover in homozygous Gunn rats. There is only minimal enhancement of bilirubin production from nonhemoglobin sources in the liver, in contrast to the large changes reported for normal animals. These studies indicate that phenobarbital does not stimulate the alternate pathways by which animals unable to conjugate bilirubin excrete bile pigment. Moreover, they raise intriguing questions concerning the production and excretion of the hepatic bilirubin fraction in the Gunn rat.
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