UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity and bilirubin conjugation in the bullfrog

Abstract

Bile pigments of bile and serum of Rana catesbeiana were investigated by means of high-pressure liquid chromatography. The major pigment in both bile and serum was bilirubin IX alpha. Bilirubin UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity was found in the livers of all animals examined, but no conjugated bilirubin was detectable in the bile. Frog bile was found to contain large amounts of beta-glucuronidase. When the beta-glucuronidase inhibitor saccharo-1,4-lactone was introduced into the gall bladder followed by an exogenous bilirubin load, bilirubin glucuronide appeared in the bile.