Abstract: Intestinal cell endogenous heparin mediated absorption of cholesterol or fatty acids in mammals is inhibited through the oral administration of heparin, an active heparin subfraction or heparinase. Suppression of cholesterol esterase-mediated absorption in humans can be inhibited by soluble heparin by two mechanisms, i.e. displacement of the enzyme from the intestinal cell membrane and inhibition of enzymatic activity of the displaced enzyme. A method for recovering a solution of purified human pancreatic cholesterol esterase having a molecular weight of about 100,000 daltons is disclosed. The 100,000 dalton fraction of human pancreatic cholesterol esterase is purified first, by preparing a solution of dialyzed human pancreatic cytosol containing the esterase and other proteins. Next, the solution is passed over a hydroxyapetite column and then eluted to yield all of the molecular weight fractions of the esterase and other proteins in the solution present as a single peak to give a first eluent.

Abstract: A method for recovering a purified 52,000 dalton fraction of human pancreatic cholesterol esterase is disclosed. The 52,000 dalton fraction of human pancreatic cholesterol esterase is purified by passing a solution having a pH of about 8.2 which contains two or more fractions of human pancreatic cholesterol esterase including the 52,000 dalton fraction over DEAE-cellulose to produce an effluent containing said 52,000 dalton fraction. Since the 52,000 dalton fraction of the esterase does not bind to the DEAE-cellulose whereas the other esterase fractions do bind to the DEAE-cellulose, the 52,000 dalton fraction is then collected in the effluent. The method can be further carried out by passing the purified 52,000 dalton fraction over both hydroxyapatite and heparin-Sepharose to obtain a homogeneous solution of the 52,000 dalton fraction.