Hepatocytes from rats fed a chow (control) diet or from rats fed a chow diet supplemented with either orotic acid (OA; 1%, w/w) or fish oil (FO; 20%, v/w) were maintained in culture for periods up to 48 h. during the first 24 h period, the low rates of output of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-associated triacylglycerol (TAG) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) in hepatocytes from the FO- and OA-fed animals were associated with significantly lower rates of intracellular TAG lipolysis and re-esterification. Most of the VLDL TAG secreted was mobilized via lipolysis of the intracellular TAG pool, but the proportion of VLDL TAG secreted via this route in cells from the FO-fed and OA-fed animals was decreased compared with that in the control-fed animals' cells. In the presence of exogenous oleate the inhibitory effect of OA feeding on VLDL apoB and TAG secretion persisted in the derived hepatocytes for up to 48 h following isolation. However, when oleate was absent no inhibitory effect on the secretion of TAG and apoB was observed between 24 and 48 h. Under these conditions the rate of intracellular TAG turnover returned to normal. The initial inhibitory effect of FO feeding on VLDL TAG and apoB secretion did not persist in the derived hepatocytes between 24 h and 48 h of culture in the presence of exogenous oleate. Although intracellular TAG lipolysis and VLDL TAG and apoB secretion rates appear to be positively correlated, a causal relationship has not been conclusively established.