Effects of lead deficiency on lipid metabolism.

The criteria of lipid metabolism in lead deficiency were determined. For this purpose an experiment was performed with Sprague-Dawley rats distributed in depletion and control groups. The depletion rats were fed an extremely low lead content diet (20 +/- 5 ppb), whereas the diet for the control animals was supplemented with 800 ppb Pb++. Dependent on generation, depletion influenced triglyceride content in serum and liver, phospholipid and cholesterol content in liver as well as the whole body fat of the offspring. The results indicate that in mothers the absorption of lipids is impaired. Consequently it is possible that the mothers do not excrete enough fat with milk leading to an energetical deficiency and therefore to reduced growth.