Intestinal absorption of dietary fat from a liquid diet perfused in rats at a submaximum level.

The small intestine of rats was perfused in vivo for 2 h with a nutritionally complete liquid diet (68% calories from fat as corn oil). As the perfusion increased from 106 mg/2 h, the intestinal disappearance of the 14C-triolein marker remained proportional to the load up to 2,359 mg fat/2 h. Despite a decrease in absorption from 70 to 17%, this represents a very large fat intake. Fat absorption improved when medium-chain triglycerides or octanoic acid replaced corn oil (both p less than 0.01). Linoleic acid was absorbed from the diet less than corn oil (p less than 0.01). Dry ox bile reduced fat absorption (p less than 0.05); lipase and an antacid had no effect. Corn oil perfused alone was absorbed better than from the diet (p less than 0.01). Data with 14C-triolein was confirmed by dry-weight disappearance of the diet and by net intestinal water balance. Usual feeding underutilizes a large reserve for fat absorption. This reserve should be considered in therapeutic nutrition.