The influence of the size and turnover kinetics of the enterocyte-based lymph lipid precursor pool (LLPP) on intestinal lymphatic drug transport has been examined. Mesenteric lymph duct-cannulated rats were infused intraduodenally with low (2-5 mg/h) or high (20 mg/h) lipid-dose formulations containing 100 g/h halofantrine (Hf, a model drug) and 1 Ci/h 14 C-oleic acid (OA) (as a marker for lipid transport) until steady-state rates of lipid (dX L /dt) ss and drug (dD L /dt) ss transport in lymph were obtained. After 5 h, the infusion was changed to formulations of the same composition but excluding 14 C-OA and Hf, allowing calculation of the first order rate constants describing turnover of lipid (K X ) and drug (K D ) from the LLPP into the lymph from the washout kinetics. The mass of lipid (X LP ) and drug (D LP ) in the LLPP was also determined. Biliary-lipid output was determined in a separate group of rats that had been infused with the same formulations. The results indicate that after administration of high lipid doses, lymphatic drug transport is dependent on the mass of exogenous lipid available in the LLPP and the rate of lipid pool turnover into the lymph. In contrast, after administration of low lipid doses, biliary-derived endogenous lipids are most likely to be the primary drivers of drug incorporation into the LLPP and lymph. Therefore, the LLPP size and composition seem to be major determinants of lymphatic drug transport, and formulation components, which increase lipid pool size, may therefore enhance lymphatic drug transport.After oral administration, drugs are typically absorbed by the enterocytes lining the small intestine and are subsequently transported to the systemic circulation via the portal blood or mesenteric lymph. For the majority of drugs, transport to the systemic circulation occurs via the portal vein because the flow rate of portal blood is approximately 500-fold higher than that of mesenteric lymph (Bollman et al., 1948;Reininger and Sapirstein, 1957;Porter and Charman, 2001). However, significant lymphatic transport may occur when highly lipophilic drugs (log P Ͼ 5 and triglyceride (TG) solubility Ͼ50 mg/ml) are intercalated into lipid transport and lipoprotein formation processes in the enterocyte Stella, 1986b, 1992).Lymphatic lipid and drug transport are closely related, and historically, lymphatic drug transport was believed to be marginal except when lymph lipid flux was increased by the administration of relatively large quantities of lipid (such as that contained in a high-fat meal). However, a recent study in our laboratory has demonstrated that substantial lymphatic drug transport may occur after administration of small quantities of lipid (i.e., that contained in a single capsule formulation) to fasted greyhound dogs (Khoo et al., 2003). This study reported that administration of a small exogenous lipid dose led to an increase in endogenous fatty acid (FA) uptake into the enterocyte and transfer into lymph, thereby providing the necessary lipid flux to suppo...