Metabolism of some monohydroxystearic acids in the intact rat

• 1.

  1. The rapid incorporation of label from intravenously administered serum-bound 9(10)-mono- and 12-monohydroxystearic acids into palmitic, stearic and octadecenoic acids in the intact rat has been demonstrated.

• 2.

  2. Analysis of label distribution in the newly formed non-hydroxy acids, following different labeling of the injected monohydroxystearic acids, indicates that breakdown to, and resynthesis from, acetate accounted for this conversion.

• 3.

  3. No evidence was found for a specific dehydration of monohydroxystearic acids to the unsaturated analogs.

• 4.

  4. The monohydroxystearic acids were extremely rapidly broken down: less than one-fifth could be recovered as such from the whole rat 5 min after intravenous injection.