Dietary Taurine Changes Ascorbic Acid Metabolism and Cholesterol Metabolism In Rats Fed Diets Containing Polychlorinated Biphenyls
説明
The effect of dietary taurine on ascorbic acid metabolism and hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes wasinvestigated in rats fed diets containing 0.02% PCB. The rats fed the PCB containing diets showed greater liver weight, and greater activities of drug metabolizing enzymes in the liver than control rats. In PCB-fed rats, urinary ascorbic acid excretion was enhanced, and serum cholesterol concentration (especially HDL-cholesterol) was significantly elevated compared with those in normal rats. Dietary taurine potentiated the increases of urinary excretion of ascorbic acid and the rise in the levels of cytochrome P-450 which were induced by PCB. On the other hand, the supplementation of taurine to normal diet did not alter these parameters. These results suggested that taurine might enhance the hepatic drug-metabolizing systems, leading consequently to the stimulation of the ascorbic acid metabolism in rats fed PCB-containingdiet.