Effect of Lithocholic Acid and Antibiotics on Tissue Bile Acids in the Rat

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Abstract
The early changes in composition of major tissue bile acids in rats maintained on supplements of lithocholic acid (50 mg/day/rat) with and without antibiotics (Terramycin hydrochloride, 50 mg/day/rat and succinylsulfathiazole, 20 mg/day/rat) were studied. Lithocholic acid induced a specific depression of tissue cholic acid accompanied by an elevation in hepatic cholesterol levels. The concurrent administration of antibiotics prevented these changes only partially, suggesting that lithocholic acid, instead of its bacterial metabolites, controls cholic acid biogenesis probably by inhibiting the enzyme, 12α-hydroxylase. In addition, lithocholic acid could partially block the uptake of cholic acid in the small bowel, another site at which regulation of bile acid homeostasis could occur. These effects are considered primary attributes of lithocholic acid since antibiotics administered concurrently failed to restore normal metabolic profiles.