FACTORS AFFECTING RATE OF ABSORPTION 189 



improve the absorption of fat, particularly in cases where an impaired utili- 

 zation exists, is exemplified by polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate, the 

 so-called Tween 80. 



Although no figures on the effect of Tween 80 on the rate of absorption 

 of fat are available, Jones et al. 8ib demonstrated a marked decrease in fat 

 loss in the feces when 1.5 g. of the emulsifier were added to each meal. 

 Whereas the average fat content of stools amounts to not more than 4% of 

 the ingested fats, 846 the loss of fat in the feces may amount to as much as 40 

 to 50% of the ingested fat in sprue, in certain disorders of the pancreas, as a 

 result of infections of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract, or after 

 partial removal of the stomach. 847 Thus, Jones and co-workers 845 were able 

 to improve greatly the fat absorption of a group of patients with nutritional 

 difficulties secondary to subtotal gastrectomy carried out to correct duo- 

 denal ulcer, as well as in a case of sprue. In a recent review of this work, 848 

 it is stated that "on the basis of these observations it appears that the agent, 

 polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate, actually has an important influence 

 on the absorption of fat." It is believed that the improvement in absorp- 

 tion is accomplished through its effect on surface tension, which facilitates 

 the production of a fat emulsion composed of finer droplets than would 

 otherwise be the case. According to Krantz, 849 Tween 80 exhibits no toxic 

 effects when fed to animals over several generations. 



(//.) The Role of Adrenocortical Hormones 



It is now known that hormones are important in fat absorption. As 

 early as 1910, Falta 850 noted that fats were not absorbed normally in Base- 

 dow's disease. Similar abnormalities were observed by Schmidt and von 

 Noorden 851 in 1921, and by Westerlund, 852 as occurring in Addison's disease. 

 However, it was not realized until later that the deficiency in fat absorption, 

 in this and analogous conditions, was related to hypofunction of the adrenal 

 cortex. 852 - 853 



8,6 C. M. Jones, P. J. Culver, G. D. Drummev, and A. E. Ryan. Ann. Int. Med., 29 

 1-10 (1948). 



846 E. E. Wollaeger, M. W. Comfort, and A. E. Osterberg, Gastroenterology, 9, 272-28:5 

 (1947). 



847 E. E. Wollaeger, M. W. Comfort, J. F. Weir, and A. E. Osterberg, Gastroenterology, 

 6, 93-104 (1946). 



848 Anonymous, Nutrition Revs., 7, 205-207 (1949). 



849 J. C. Krantz, Unpublished observations cited in Nutrition Revs., 7, 205-207 (1949). 



850 W. Falta, Z. Bin. Med., 71, 1-22 (1910). 



881 A. Schmidt and C. von Noorden, Klinik der Darmkrankheiten, 2nd ed., Bergmann, 

 Munich and Wiesbaden, 1921, Vol. 5, pp. 317 ff. 



852 E. Westerlund, Klin. Wochschr., 18, 856-858 (1939). 



853 T. E. Hess-Thaysen, Non-tropical Sprue, Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1932. 



