Lipolysis and hydrogenation of galactolipids and the accumulation of phytanic acid in the rumen (Short Communication)

By administering 14C-labelled grass to a sheep it has been shown that the ruminal bio-hydrogenation of the esterified linolenic acid of the galactolipids in chloroplast membranes only occurs after a rapid lipolysis. A slow accumulation of [14C]phytanic acid is presumed to arise by oxidation of phytol residues removed from chlorophylls.