Analysis of fecal bile acids and diet among the Japanese in Hawaii.

Fecal samples of 165 Japanese men in Hawaii, age 43 to 74, were analyzed for bile acid content by their conversion to the methyl ester and the trimethylsilyl ether derivative followed by separation on a gas chromatograph. The arithmetic mean of total bile acids for the 165 specimens was 10.96 mg/g dry weight feces. Each of the following bile acids was detectable in over 77% of the fecal specimens: cholic, deoxycholic, lithocholic, and cholanic acid. The intake of Western foods was not positively correlated with the fecal content of secondary or modified bile acids, even though other workers have observed that these bile acids predominated in persons from Westernized countries. Two of the Japanese foods were negatively correlated with the levels of modified bile acids, which suggested that these foods contributed to a decrease in modified bile acids in fecal specimens. Fecal bile acid measurements appeared to be associated with age, but not with weight, height, or serum cholesterol levels.