Sites of Initial Removal of Chylomicron Triglyceride Fatty Acids From the Blood*

After absorption from the small intestine, the long-chain fatty acids of dietary origin enter the blood primarily as glycerides in chylomicrons. The removal and subsequent distribution in tissue of triglyceride fatty acids (TGFA) in chylomicrons has generally been studied after intravenous administration of isotopically labeled lymph chylomicrons (1-7). Borgstrbm and Jordan have shown that chylomicron triglycerides enter the liver without prior hydrolysis, and have proposed that under physiologic conditions the liver is the principal site of chylomicron removal (6). They have interpreted the time course of the deposition of chylomicron TGFA in adipose tissue to indicate that these fatty acids are derived from lipoproteins