Cholate and deoxycholate counteract the calcium-induced lowering of fat digestion in rats

The objective of the present experiment was to investigate whether deoxycholate and cholate would differ in their effectiveness of counteracting the inhibitory effect of calcium on fat digestibility in rats. Rats were fed one of four experimental diets, a diet low in calcium, high in calcium or high in calcium with either 0.5% sodium cholate or 0.5% sodium deoxycholate. Both deoxycholate and cholate supplementation of the high-calcium diet reduced feed intake and body-weight gain. Low-calcium intake increased fat digestibility. Supplemental bile acids partially counteracted the calcium-induced inhibition of fat digestion, cholate being more effective than deoxycholate. The outcome is explained by the suggestion that cholate is bound to the calcium phosphate sediment in the small intestinal lumen with less affinity than deoxycholate. As a result, more cholate than deoxycholate would be available to support the process of fat digestion. Rats fed cholate had higher liver and serum cholesterol concentrations than did the rats fed deoxycholate.