Effects of fasting and pyruvate on palmitic acid metabolism.

Neither fasting nor pyruvate supplementation affects the oxidation of octanoic acid by liver slices (l-3). Similarly, neither fasting nor glucose supplementation affects the oxidation of this acid by the intact rat (4). On the other hand, the oxidation in vivo of palmitic acid and tripalmitin is increased by prior fasting of the animal and decreased by prior glucose administration (4). The differences between the long and short chain acids in viva suggested that such a difference may also exist in vitro. The present paper deals with the results of studies in which the oxidation of palmitic acid by liver and kidney slices was studied from the following standpoints: (a) the influence of fasting, (b) the influence of pyruvate, and (c) the influence of fasting on the effect of pyruvate.