Carcass deposition of dietary long-chain odd carbon fatty acids by rats and their effect on plasma glucose and ketone bodies during starvation.

Weanling rats were fed diets containing various levels (0 to 40% of total dietary acids) of long chain, odd-carbon fatty acids (OCFA, 15:0 + 17:0) for 5 weeks. The OCFA did not significantly alter growth or feed efficiency and the OCFA were deposited in the carcass fat in proportion to their concentration in the diet fat. After the 5-week ingestion period, the rats were starved for 48 hours and the effect of carcass OCFA content on weight loss, fat loss, urinary total nitrogen, plasma glucose concentration and plasma ketone body concentrations was determined as a function of starvation time. The results demonstrate that OCFA catabolism during starvation results in a dose related increase in plasma glucose and dose related decrease in plasma ketone bodies without significantly altering the total weight loss, carcass fat loss, or urinary total nitrogen. Finally, the carcass percentage of OCFA did not change during starvation showing that these acids are as readily lost from the carcass during starvation as even chain fatty acids.