SOME STUDIES ON THE METABOLISM OF GLYCEROL-l-C”*

The literature presents much evidence bearing on the fact that glycerol can play r8les of importance in living processes, not only in the combined state in such physiologically important molecules structurally related to glycerol as glycerides, lecithins, cephalins, phosphatidic acids, ethers, and plasmalogens, but also in the uncombined state as free glycerol. Glycerol itself has been identified both as a product resulting from living processes (1) and as a reactant for further biological transformations. Fermentation processes are known that convert it into a variety of products such as trimethylene glycol (2), acrolein (3), n-mannitol (4), kojic acid (5), butanol (6), succinic acid (7), dihydroxyacetone (S), and carbon dioxide and water (9). Glycerol has been shown to be readily absorbable through the intestinal tract (lo), phosphorylation probably playing a rSle (11, 12), and evidence is in the literature supporting its conversion into glycogen (13), blood sugar (14), and blood lactic acid (15). Recent evidence has been presented for the existence of small concentrations of free glycerol in the liver tissue of the rat (16). We are reporting studies carried out in the intact, normal white rat on the metabolism of glycerol-l-C4 to obtain quantitative information on the fate of the primary alcohol groups.