Biliary bile acids, bile alcohols, and sterols of Alligator mississippiensis

Bile from Alligator mississippiensis was found to contain a mixture of more than twenty bile acids, bile alcohols, and neutral sterols. Bile acids and bile alcohols were purified by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. Concentrations were measured by gas-liquid chromatography on 1% HiEFF-8BP and identifications were made by mass spectrometry. The major neutral sterols consisted of 98% cholesterol and 0.8% cholestanol. Bile acids recovered from the acidic fraction were 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholestanoic acid (61%), 3 alpha, 7 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholestanoic acid (9%), 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-5 alpha-cholestanoic acid (8%), and 3-oxo-7 alpha, 12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholestanoic acid (10%). Other C27 bile acids identified were: 3 alpha, 12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholestanoic acid, 7-oxo-3 alpha, 12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholestanoic acid, and 3-oxo-7 alpha, 12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 alpha-cholestanoic acid. Small quantities of C24 cholic, 5 alpha-cholic, chenodeoxycholic, and ursodeoxycholic acids were also detected, as were trace amounts of the C27 bile alcohols 5 alpha-cholestane-3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha, 26-tetrol, and 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha, 25-tetrol. These results suggest that the alligator is acpable of synthesizing both the 5 alpha and 5 beta-isomers of the C27 bile acids. The small amounts of the C24 bile acids present might originate either from C27 bile acid or bile alcohol precursors or from exogenous sources.