Myo-inositol deficiency in gerbils: changes in phospholipid composition of intestinal microsomes

Phospholipid composition and fatty acid pattern in major phospholipid classes of intestinal microsomes were determined in female Mongolian gerbils under various dietary conditions. The intestinal microsomal phosphatidylinositol level was decreased to 53, 43 and 77% of the control by the feeding of the myo-inositol-deficient diet containing high carbohydrate-low fat, high coconut oil or high safflower oil, respectively. Under these conditions, the intestinal lipid level was increased to 24 and 12.7% in the deficient gerbils fed the high coconut oil and the high-safflower oil diets, respectively, but no change occurred in those fed the high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. The decreased phosphatidylinositol level was compensated by increasing the proportion of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine but not phosphatidylcholine. Feeding high dietary carbohydrate and coconut oil increased the ratio of oleic acid to linoleic acid on phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol as compared to the feeding of high safflower oil. This ratio was also increased due to myo-inositol deficiency, especially in phosphatidylethanolamine, with the degree correlated to the amount of fat accumulated in the intestine. These data indicated that the change in the microsomal composition was related to the fat accumulation in the intestine when high-fat diets were fed.