Occurrence and structure of bile alcohols in mammals

In 1974, Setoguchi et al. found that patients with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis had an impaired sjTithesis of bile acids and excreted large amounts of C27 bile alcohols in bile and feces [76]. Since then, a number of investigations have revealed the occurrence of bile alcohols in mammals. It is now recognized that, when new analytical methods are applied, traces of bile alcohols can be detected even in biological fluids from healthy humans. Table 3 lists all the known bile alcohols identified in mammals. 

Since bile alcohols in mammals may be present in unconjugated form or as glucuronides or sulfate esters, studies of these compounds require techniques for group separation of the different forms. Ion-exchange chromatography has been used for this purpose [77-79]. Bile alcohol glucuronides may be deconjugated by 

27-Dinor-5 8-cholestane-3o,7a,12o,24,25-pentol 3 a,7a,l 2 a-T rihydroxy-26,27-dinor-5j8-cholestan-24-one 

Bile and feces from CTX patients Bile and feces from CTX patients Rabbit bile human urine Bile and feces from CTX patients Rabbit bile 

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