ABSTRACT
1. Wax esters were identified in the serum and liver of steelhead trout. 2. Confirmation of the identity was made by thin-layer chromatography of the wax ester hydrolysis products: long chain alcohols and fatty acids. 3. Tissue concentrations of the wax are 0.34 mg/ml and 0.12 mg/g in the serum and liver respectively. 4. The presence of the wax esters in these two particular tissues suggests that the wax is synthesized in the liver, incorporated into lipoproteins, and functions as a lipid transport molecule.
Subject(s)
Liver/metabolism , Salmonidae/metabolism , Trout/metabolism , Waxes/metabolism , Animals , Fatty Acids, Nonesterified/metabolism , Lipid Metabolism , Sterols/metabolism , Time Factors , Triglycerides/metabolism , Trout/blood , Waxes/bloodABSTRACT
Previous studies have shown that ingested fatty alcohols are absorbed as fatty acids and fatty acid esters, particularly triglycerides. The present study was carried out to determine whether fatty alcohols are also transported as 0-alkyl glyceryl ethers, alk-1-enyl glyceryl ethers, and as wax esters. Oxidation of fatty alcohols to other lipids was assessed by using a mixture of [1-3H] hexadecanol and [1-14C] hexadecanol of predetermined ratio. The results indicate that the absorption of fatty alcohol, and of its transport forms, parallels the absorption of labeled fatty acids. Six to 25% of plasma radioactivity was present as 1-0-alkyl diacylglyceryl ethers with a smaller proportion of ether lipids in the phospholipid fraction. In addition, 4-13% of the ingested hexadecanol appeared in the plasma as a material having the chromatographic properties of wax ester. Fatty alcohols were not detected in the plasma as alk-1-enyl lipids.
