Polyenoic Acid in Hypercholesterolæmia induced by Pyridoxine Deficiency in Rats

Abstract

SINCLAIR¹ first suggested that development of atherosclerosis may be related to the level of polyenoic fatty acids in blood, and, since pyridoxine is known to be a factor for conversion of linolineate to arachidonate², atherosclerosis observed in pyridoxine-deficient monkeys³ may be related to the deficiency of arachidonate. To test the validity of the hypothesis, we decided to make a detailed study of the unsaturated fatty acid content of the blood and of cholesterol and unsaturated fatty acids in the aortæ of pyridoxine-deficient rats and to find whether the hypercholesterolæmia observed had any relationship to cholesterol synthesis in the deficient condition. We have therefore determined simultaneously liver and bile cholesterol, since bile cholesterol is known to reflect faithfully the status of cholesterol synthesis by liver.