Lipidemic effects of an interesterified mixture of butter, medium-chain triacylglycerol and safflower oils.

Author: Mascioli EA, McLennan CE, Schaefer EJ, Lichtenstein AH, Hoy CE, Christensen MS, Bistrian BR

Author affiliation: Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Edward.mascioli@parexel.com

Publication date & source: 1999.09, Lipids., 34(9):889-94.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

The objective of this study was to determine if the positional structure of dietary triacylglycerol affected lipidemic responses. Thirty healthy adults (16 men and 14 postmenopausal women) with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations >3.37 mM (130 mg/dL) enrolled in a prospective, single-blind, cross-over outpatient clinical trial that consisted of two 5-wk dietary phases. After baseline screening, subjects were instructed to follow individualized meal plans (weight maintenance diets with 36% of total energy from fat, half of which was from a test oil) and randomized to receive either butter (B) or an interesterified mixture (IM) of butter, medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT), and safflower oils. Blood drawn during weeks 5 and 10 of feeding was analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),LDL-C, and triacylglycerols (TAG). Mean plasma levels of TC (B, 6.98+/-1.06 mM; IM, 7.09+/-1.20 mM), HDL-C (B,1.30+/-0.35 mM; IM, 1.29+/-0.34 mM), and LDL-C (B, 4.91+/-0.95 mM; IM, 4.92+/-1.10 mM) were not significantly different between the two dietary treatments. Mean TAG levels were higher for the interesterified B-MCT mixture (B, 1.75+/-0.72 mM; IM, 1.96+/-0.86 mM, P < 0.05). We conclude that an IM of B, MCT, and safflower oils as compared to native B has no appreciable effect on plasma cholesterol concentrations but is associated with a modest rise in plasma TAG.