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Metabolism of [¹⁴C]Adipic Acid in Riboflavin-Deficient Rats: A Test In Vivo for Fatty Acid Oxidation

MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, England

Mitochondrial preparations from riboflavin-deficient rats are known to exhibit reduced capacity for the oxidation of fatty acids. During a search for a suitable fatty acid probe for the in vivo exploration of this phenomenon, it became apparent that a dicarboxylic acid, adipic acid, was more promising than a monocarboxylic acid such as octanoic acid. Rats made riboflavin deficient, and controls at various stages of development, were dosed intragastrically with [1,6-¹⁴C]adipic acid, and ¹⁴CO₂ production was measured for 3 h. All animals were then given flavin mononucleotide intragastrically to replete their tissues, and the [¹⁴C]adipic acid test was repeated at intervals thereafter. In all groups, repletion produced a highly significant increase in the whole-body adipic acid oxidation index, and reversed the low rates of oxidation which had been observed in nonrepleted, deficient animals. This approach may therefore permit the development of a new functional test for fatty acid oxidation in human riboflavin deficiency, and for other conditions in which fatty acid oxidation pathways are impaired, by the use of nonradioactive [¹³C]adipic acid.

KEY WORDS: • riboflavin • deficiency • adipic acid • rat • radioactive isotope

Manuscript received 10 June 1988. Revision accepted 31 January 1989.