Whole-thickness everted jejunal rings were used to measure uptake of L-tyrosine (L-Tyr), L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), and L-tryptophan (L-Trp) in 6-, 12-, and 24-mo-old rats. The rate of uptake of all three amino acids (1 mM) was significantly reduced after 20 min of incubation in 24-mo-old compared with 6-mo-old rats. Results of influx (2 min) of 0.5-40.0 mM L-Phe and L-Trp suggested an increased affinity but decreased capacity for the transporter with age; these differences were significant for L-Trp (P less than 0.05). Respective values for apparent Kt and Vmax were the following: L-Phe 6-mo-old rats, 5.46 mM and 1.03 mumol.g-1.2 min-1; 24-mo-old rats, 2.54 mM and 0.51 mumol.g-1.2 min-1; L-Trp 6-mo-old rats, 5.09 mM and 0.38 mumol.g-1.2 min-1; 24-mo-old rats, 3.20 mM and 0.25 mumol.g-1.2 min-1. Values for 12-mo-old rats fell in between the other two age groups.