186 II. DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION OF FATS 



Table 27 . 



Effect of Lecithin on the Rate of Absorption of Limpid Cottonseed Oil, and 



Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil in Fasting Female Rats' 1 



Average absorption, 

 mg./lOO sq. cm./hr. f> 



Duration — 



of Fat without Fat with 



test, hrs. lecithin (A) lecithin (B) 



Cottonseed oil 2 47.8 ±2.3(11) 61.8 ±3.7(14) 



3.21 

 3 38.5 (6) 59.9 (8) 



Hydrogenated cottonseed oil (m. p., 



46°C.) 3 26.5 ± 1.8(10) 48.9 ± 3.0(10) 



3.56 

 6 24.7 ± 2.0(11) 36.7 ± 2.2(9) 



4.12 

 Hydrogenated cottonseed oil (m. p., 



54°C.) 3 18.0 ± 1.8(9) 30.1 ±2.8(8) 



3.58 

 6 8.5 ± 0.9(6) 21.8 ± 1.5(6) 



7.65 



a V. Augur, H. S. Rollman, and H. J. Deuel, Jr., J. Nutrition, 33, 177-186 (1947). 



6 Including the Standard Error of the Mean. The figures in parentheses indicate the 

 number of experiments included in the average. 



c Mean Difference: Standard Error of the Mean Difference of results on "A" com- 

 pared with "B" (in italics). When this exceeds 3, the results are considered to be 

 significant. 



sorbed at a faster rate by man if lecithin is added to the diet. On the other 

 hand, the prolonged ingestion of lecithin was shown to result in a marked 

 decrease in serum cholesterol. 839 Similar results were recorded by Steiner 

 and Domanski, 840 although a higher level of blood cholesterol recurred after 

 four to five weeks, in spite of continued lecithin feeding. However, 

 Urbach 841 maintained persistently lower levels of blood cholesterol when a 

 diet low in fat and carbohydrate was given along with lecithin. Similar 

 results were reported by Gross and Kesten. 842 



All of the studies reported above employed an indirect approach, that is, 

 they were based upon a change in the level of the constituent under investi- 

 gation in the blood. Augur el al.* 16 on the other hand, employed a direct 

 procedure for the study of the effect of lecithin on fat absorption, namely 

 by following the rate of disappearance of the triglyceride from the intestine. 

 The results of these investigators are summarized in Table 27. 



839 D. Adlersberg and H. Sobotka, J. Mount Sinai Hosp., 9, 955-956 (1943). 



840 A. Steiner and B. Domanski, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 55, 236-238 (1944). 



841 E. Urbach, Skin Diseases, Metabolism and Nutrition, Grune & Stratton, New 

 York, 1946, p. 542. 



842 P. Gross and B. Kesten, Arch. Dermatol, and Syphilol., 47, 159-174 (1943). 



