Fat emulsion catabolism in vitro and in vivo--sex related differences

The removal rates of an intravenously administered 10% fat emulsion (Intralipid) from plasma in male and female conscious rats are described. The plasma concentration of fat emulsion particles at various time intervals following a bolus administration (0.2 g/kg) was measured by nephelometry. At the dose employed, the removal of fat emulsion from the plasma followed first order kinetics, ie, a constant fraction was removed from the plasma per unit of time, K2 (%/min). Females exhibited a significantly greater fractional removal rate (K2) than comparably aged males (21.0 +/- 1.0 vs 15.0 +/- 1.4, p less than 0.05). Postheparin lipoprotein lipase, measured using fat emulsion as substrate, also was significantly greater in female rats compared with males. Our results demonstrate that, in rats, fat emulsion (Intralipid) is catabolized more rapidly in females than in males and a greater lipoprotein lipase activity in female rats may be the causative factor.