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Effect of Methionine on Liver Lipid Content and Lipid Metabolism of Rats Fed a Protein-free Diet

Laboratory of Nutritional Biochemistry, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Japan

Feeding a protein-free diet supplemented with methionine caused an accumulation of lipids in the liver, but no lipid accumulation was observed in the liver of rats fed a protein-free diet with or without threonine. Experiments were conducted to examine the mechanism of liver lipid accumulation induced by the addition of methionine to the protein-free diet. The liver lipid content of rats fed the protein-free diet supplemented with methionine was higher when sucrose rather than glucose was used as a carbohydrate source. The fat level of the diet had no effect on the accumulation of the liver lipids. The incorporation of in vivo glucose-U-¹⁴C into liver lipids of rats fed the protein-free diet supplemented with methionine was higher than of rats fed either the protein-free diet or the protein-free diet supplemented with threonine. The protein content of serum ß-lipoproteins of rats fed the protein-free diet supplemented with methionine tended to be lower on day 9, and was significantly lower on day 14 as compared with that of rats fed the protein-free diet. Urinary nitrogen content in rats fed either the protein-free diet or the protein-free diet supplemented with methionine was almost the same. Therefore, it is probable that there is no relationship between the protein sparing action of methionine and the formation of this fatty liver. It would appear that both the action of sucrose and methionine may be attributed to some interference with lipid transport. However, lipid transport was assessed only with respect to the methionine effect.

KEY WORDS: • methionine • liver lipid content • lipid metabolism

Manuscript received 27 March 1972.