Isolithocholic acid

This acid, the 3/3-epimer of lithocholic acid, has been detected as a component of the feces of man and rabbit (32, 62, 73, 74). A compound named isolithocholic acid was isolated from chicken bile in an early study by Hosizima et al. (15). However, the properties of this acid do not coincide with those of 3/3-hydroxycholanic acid. The 3 acid has been prepared from the ketone by hydrogenation under acidic conditions (72). 

Fig. 1. Gas-liquid chromatographic runs of fecal bile acids on OV-1 capillary column. Identifications according to retention times of available standards 1. isolithocholic acid, 2. cholic acid, 3. isodeoxycholic acid, 4. deoxycholic acid, 5. chenodeoxycholic acid, 6. cholic acid, 7. ursodeoxycholic acid. Run from a patient with ileal dysfunction (lower panel on right hand side) shows presence of mainly primary bile acids and derivatives without 7-dehydroxylation. Increase of sensitivity by a factor of four indicated by small arrows. 

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