Absorption of medium-chain triglycerides in animals with pancreatic atrophy

Abstract: Clinical and experimental observations have shown that in the absence of the exocrine pancreas, substantial amounts of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) can be absorbed.The present work investigates the mechanisms of MCT digestion and absorption from the gut of rats with surgically induced atrophy of the exocrine pancreas. It is shown that both the upper jejunum and cecum of these rats digest and absorb significant amounts of MCT, but by different mechanisms.In the jejunum, the triglyceride is not hydrolyzed in the lumen and is diffused intact into the epithelial cell. In the cell, MCT are partly hydrolyzed by an intestinal lipase and are transferred to the portal blood partly as intact triglyceride and partly as free fatty acids.In the cecum, MCT are hydrolyzed in the lumen. The liberated free fatty acids undergo rapid diffusion to the mucosa and portal plasma.