Comparative studies of ‘bile salts’. 16. Bile salts of monotremes and observations on glycine conjugation

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Abstract
Bile salts of the platypus (Ornithorhyncus anatinus) and the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) were shown to contain taurocholate and taurine conjugates of mixtures of substances chromatographically similar to deoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid. Bile alcohols or C27 bile acids were not found. Monotreme bile salts are therefore of "modern" general type, and biological implications of this are briefly considered. With improved methods, glycine conjugates were not detected in the monotremes and in 6 species of marsupials. Glycine conjugates may possibly be confined to eutherian mammals and, if their emergence during evolution was a single event, their distribution may be of value in studying geographical "radiation" of mammals.