Digestion and absorption rates of [3H]-oleic acid and [14C]-triolein do not differ in rats fed heated (-) and (+) gossypol cottonseed and soybean flours.

This study was conducted to compare in vivo the acute effects of heated (+) and (-) gossypol cottonseed flours with those of soybean flour on lipid digestion and absorption in growing rats. Rats were fed by gastric intubation mixed [ 3 H]-oleic acid and [ 14 C]-triolein with heated flours or without flour (control). Lipid digestion and absorption were determined for 6 h after meal intubation. Both radioactivities recovered in gastrointestinal tract were significantly higher in rats fed (+) gossypol cottonseed flour than in all other groups. The majority of both recovered radioactivities was found in stomach contents, then in stomach wall and finally in intestinal wall. The distribution of b…