Acetate Metabolism in Ruminant Tissues

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Abstract
Acetate-1-14C was incubated with various tissue homogenates prepared from tissues of fed and 7-day fasted sheep in order to study the site and route of acetate metabolism in tissues of the ruminant. Acetate incorporation into CO2, neutral lipids, free fatty acids, nondistillable organic acids, cations and proteins was followed. The extra hepatic tissues (adipose, muscle, heart) accounted for most of the acetate oxidation observed in intact animals. The decreasing order of acetate utilization by ruminant tissues was adipose tissue, kidney, muscle, heart, lung, liver and brain when expressed as incorporation per milligram of protein. A 7-day fast slightly decreased the overall acetate metabolism by the tissues, but C14O2 production from acetate was lowered only in liver and brain tissues. Inclusion of carnitine into the incubation medium with acetate increased acetate incorporation into free fatty acids and neutral lipids. The liver was the only organ to show an effect of carnitine upon acetate conversion to carbon dioxide. The largest stimulation occurred in incorporation of acetate into long-chain fatty acids where as much as a fivefold increase was observed.

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