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

The objective of this study was to determine if the positional structure of dietary triacylglycerol affected lipidemic responses. Thirty healthyadults (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 wasfrom 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 lipoproteincholesterol (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 differentbetween 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 onplasma cholesterol concentrations but is associated with a modest rise in plasma TAG.