Chylomicron triglyceride metabolism in resting and exercising fed dogs

The turnover of circulating triglycerides (TG) was determined in dogs during rest, following ingestion of food that included corn oil, and in the final period of a 1-h treadmill exercise of moderate intensity (72-84 m/min). In all cases the loss of [14C]TG from the plasma followed a first-order process. The fractional removal rate constant at rest was 26.5 +/- 1.9% (SE) n = 10) of the circulating pool size per minute, and it was increased slightly to 33.8 +/- 3.6% (n = 7) per minute during exercise. The uptake of plasma TG-derived fatty acids (5 min postinjection) was increased (P less than 0.05) in working muscle, whereas the TG uptake in fat tended to decrease. Further, the percent of TG-derived fatty acids found in the muscle's acylglyceride pool was less (90.0 +/- 3.6 vs. 53.5 +/- 1.8%), while that in the muscle's free fatty acid pool was greater (12.3 +/- 36.1 +/- 4.7%) in working compared with resting muscle. Thus the fourfold greater quantity of plasma TG-derived fatty acids found in the working muscle's free fatty acid pool could account for the entire increased TG uptake caused by exercise. This suggests that, in the fed state, circulating TG could represent a potential source of fatty acids for beta-oxidation in working muscle. However, the importance of plasma TG-derived fatty acids as an energy substrate during muscle use in a postprandial state has yet to be determined quantitatively.