An investigation of serum lipoproteins and of their contribution to mild fat in the dairy cow

1. Tritium-labelled olive-oil triglycerides were introduced into the rumens of lactating cows and the specific activities of the lipids of milk and plasma and of serum lipoproteins were measured. 2. On treatment of serum with dextran sulphate it was found that the lipid of the precipitated beta-lipoproteins consistently had a specific activity-time curve with a maximum comparable in value with, and occurring earlier than, that of the milk fat. 3. On fractionation of the lipids of these lipoproteins it was found that only the triglycerides and diglycerides had specific activity-time curves with maxima greater than that of milk fat, and on radioactivity data alone they are the only blood constituents studied that meet the requirements for being the precursor of milk fat. 4. From a consideration of abundances and the mean specific activities over the period of the experiment it is shown that the contribution of the diglycerides to the radioactivity in the milk fat must have been negligible and that only the triglycerides could have been responsible for all the radioactivity found in it. 5. Although no other fraction could alone have been responsible for all the radioactivity in the milk fat, at least one, the phospholipids, could have made some contribution. 6. It is calculated that 35-48% by weight of milk fat was derived from the beta-lipoprotein triglycerides, according to whether the phospholipids made an improbably large contribution or none at all.