Effect of orally administered 9-oxononanoic acid on lipogenesis in rat liver

9-Oxononanoic acid, which is one of the major products of the autoxidation of linoleic acid, was administered orally to rats and its effect on hepatic lipid metabolism was investigated. The de novo synthesis of fatty acids was strongly reduced 30 h after the administration of 100 mg of 9-oxononanoic acid as compared to that in the saline-administered group. Activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase decreased by 60% and the activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase increased by 35% in the test group. The level of triacylglycerols in serum was low and the level of free fatty acids remained unchanged. Thus, the administration of 9-oxononanoic acid decreased hepatic lipogenesis. It is generally believed that the reduction in lipogenesis is facilitated by a decrease in the NADPH level. The ratio of NADPH/NADP in the test group, however, became high as compared to that in the control group, and the activities of glucose 6-phosphate and isocitrate dehydrogenases increased. On the other hand, the levels of CoA derivatives, especially long-chain acyl-CoA, were higher in the test group than in the control. Therefore, the reduction of hepatic lipogenesis in the 9-oxononanoic acid group could be attributed to the inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase by the accumulated long-chain acyl-CoA.