Variations of bile salt pool size and secretion rate in rats according to the modes of sterilization and preparation of a semi-synthetic diet.

A semi-synthetic diet was sterilized by irradiation and given to rats as pellets, powder or paste obtained by admixing an equal amount of water. The bile salt pool increased from the first to the third treatment. That effect disappeared when the starch was replaced by sucrose or when the diet was autoclaved instead of irradiated. The bile duct secretion of bile salts varied according to the bile salt pool. Hypotheses are proposed to explain the relationship between the form of the diet and bile salt pool size and secretion.