Isolation and identification of delta 6-lithocholenic acid (3 alpha-hydroxy-5 beta-6-cholen-24-oic acid) as an intestinal bacterial metabolite of chenodeoxycholic acid in man.

Fecal bacterial biotransformation studies of chenodeoxycholic acid were performed. Incubations were carried out for 30-s to 12-h time intervals. delta 6-Lithocholenic acid was isolated by thin-layer chromatography. Its structure was confirmed by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The proportion of chenodeoxycholic acid biotransformed to delta 6-lithocholenic acid consistently ranged from 5.5 to 14.0%.