Bile Salts: A Determinant of the Bile-Peritoneal Electrical Potential Difference in the Rat

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The electrical potential difference (PD) between bile and peritoneal cavity of the rat was determined in order to obtain additional information concerning the mechanism of bile formation in this species. A significant negative PD (− 4.4 ± 0.6 mv) was measured in the basal state at a time when the rat was secreting normal amounts of bile salts. The intravenous administration of sodium dehydrocholate produced a significant increase in negative PD, bile salt concentration, bile salt output, and bile flow. When non-bile salt dependent canalicular secretion was studied by creating a biliary fistula, there was a marked fall in PD, bile salt concentration, and bile salt output, but only a modest decrease in bile flow. Although the genesis of the PD cannot be determined with certainty, these changes in electrical PD correlated best with changes in bile salt concentration; the PD fell toward zero when non-bile salt dependent canalicular secretion was predominant. If the measured PD reflects canalicular events, non-bile salt dependent canalicular secretion may be associated with zero PD in the rat.